Staff, doctors and volunteers from Henderson General Hospital at Hamilton Health Sciences joined Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, David Caplan, Minister of Government and Consumer Services and MPP Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale, Ted McMeekin, and Sophia Aggelonitis, MPP Hamilton Mountain at a ceremony today to celebrate the official start of construction of the hospital's major redevelopment project.

“I am pleased to see construction underway on Henderson General Hospital,” said Minister of Public Infrastructure David Caplan. “This project demonstrates our government's commitment to provide resources and facilities to serve the health care needs of people across Ontario.”

“This project is an essential part of our government's plan to renew hospitals and lower emergency room wait times in the local community and across the province,” commented Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, George Smitherman. “Once complete, this redeveloped hospital will improve access to important health services so that Hamilton residents will get the care they need, when they need it.”

The government's investment in Hamilton Health Sciences' Henderson General Hospital site will give Hamilton-area residents better access to a full-range of acute inpatient and ambulatory services supporting cancer care and patients from the Juravinski Cancer Centre. 

The building team led by EllisDon, has begun construction which is expected to be completed in spring 2012. At the peak of construction, approximately 500 construction workers will be employed. The project financing was provided by Pacific & Western Bank of Canada.

“This is a significant project for the people of Hamilton,” said McMeekin.  We can be assured that residents in our region will have continued access to great health care for many years to come.”  

“This is the second time in just over two months that the community has celebrated a groundbreaking for state-of-the-art healthcare facilities in Hamilton,” said Aggelonitis. “That's a testament to this government's commitment to quality health care.”  

The Henderson General Hospital redevelopment project will result in enhanced general hospital services. It will include additional oncology and critical care beds and provide more capacity in emergency services, surgery, diagnostic services, outpatient clinics and support areas.

"This is a very exciting day.  We have looked forward to this redevelopment for many years" said Murray Martin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hamilton Health Sciences. "We appreciate the government's continued commitment and support that will help us to meet the growing health care needs of our region.” 

“Hamilton Health Sciences' expansion and renovation is vitally important to our community in so many ways,” commented Sandy Alyman, General Manager of the Hamilton-Halton Construction Association. “Our member companies and their local employees are looking forward to the opportunity to be involved with such a significant project.” 

KPMG LLP completed a value for money (VFM) assessment and projected an estimated $29.8 million in savings compared to the estimated cost using a traditional procurement model. 

The VFM report is available on Infrastructure Ontario's website along with the project agreement. The VFM report provides a summary of the project costs, including the cost of the contract with EllisDon Corporation, transaction costs and other ancillary costs.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are working with Hamilton Health Sciences to redevelop the Henderson General Hospital, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable. Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to managing some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget.

This project is guided by the principles outlined in the province's Building a Better Tomorrow framework, which ensures public ownership of core assets such as hospitals, schools, and water and wastewater facilities.

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca for more information.

Contacts: 

Amy Tang  
Minster's Office 
Public Infrastructure Renewal 
416-325-4048  

Infrastructure Ontario
Paulette den Elzen 
416-327-5764

Hamilton Health Sciences
Roxanne Kantzavelos 
905-387-9711, Ext. 63015 

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