TORONTO - Ottawa West-Nepean MPP and Minister of Health Promotion Jim Watson joined Queensway Carleton Hospital President and CEO Tom Schonberg, hospital staff and local officials to mark the completion of the structural steel phase of the hospital's early works project. This construction milestone was marked with the placement of the final steel beam.
“I'm thrilled to see this work progressing so well,” said Watson. “Cancer patients will have access to new facilities here at Queensway Carleton Hospital sooner because of this early but important phase of the project.”
Site preparation work has begun at the Queensway Carleton Hospital to make way for the new satellite cancer centre. The satellite site is part of the capital project to expand The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Program.
“We still have a lot of work ahead but we look forward to seeing our cancer centre begin to take shape,” said Schonberg.
Site preparation, which began in June 2007, includes relocating the hospital's central air conditioning plant, rerouting the main water supply and demolishing a portion of the maintenance building to allow for the construction of a cancer centre satellite. This four-storey building will house three radiation treatment machines, two clinics and will have a capacity for 33 chemotherapy spaces.
The broader capital project to redevelop and expand The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Program will include construction of a new satellite centre at Queensway Carleton Hospital as well as renovation and expansion of the existing cancer centre at The Ottawa Hospital's General Campus. The goal of this integrated cancer program is to bring together programs in systemic therapy (chemotherapy), radiation therapy, preventative oncology, palliative medicine and supportive care. The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Program will serve a total population of 1.5 million in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario.
Construction on the main project is expected to begin in late 2007/early 2008.
The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Program is an outpatient cancer treatment and research facility that serves the Champlain region. It provides programs in systemic therapy (chemotherapy), radiation therapy, surgical oncology, preventative oncology, palliative medicine and supportive care.
Infrastructure Ontario will work with The Ottawa Hospital and Queensway Carleton Hospital to redevelop and expand The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Program, 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 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. The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Program project is one of many infrastructure projects being upgraded and modernized under ReNew Ontario, the government's five-year, $30-billion plus public infrastructure investment plan.
Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca for more information.
Contacts:
Mandy Downes
Infrastructure Ontario
416-327-5325
Judy Brown
Queensway Carleton Hospital
613-721-4700 x 5601