TORONTO - Women's College Hospital and Infrastructure Ontario today announced that Women's College Partnership has signed a contract to design, build, finance and maintain the hospital's redevelopment project in downtown Toronto.

This project will involve the construction of a new 630,000 square foot hospital on the hospital's current Grenville Street site. The redeveloped Women's College Hospital will replace all existing buildings and consolidate most hospital services in one location, enabling innovation in ambulatory models of care and enhancing the hospital's stature as a leader in women's health care, research and education.

Today's announcement signifies that all contractual steps have been completed and the project can move forward. Construction of the new building is expected to be underway in fall 2010 and completed in 2016. The construction project will provide a sizeable stimulus to the regional economy by directly and indirectly creating and supporting thousands of jobs. At the peak of construction, it is estimated that 300 workers will be on site daily. Labour will be drawn largely from the Greater Toronto Area.

Highlights of Women's College Hospital's capital redevelopment project include:

  • State-of-the-art ambulatory facility designed with specialized clinics and surgical suites that integrate prevention, disease management, treatment, research and education providing better patient flow, technology and an improved patient experience;  
  • Easily accessible hub of programs, clinics and services that enable teams of care providers to help prevent and manage patient's diseases and conditions - based on how women lead their lives. This includes primary care, chronic disease management, surgical services, urgent care, gynaecology, diagnostics and mental health programs, all delivered in a flexible patient-centred, ambulatory model;
  • Improved access for medical and diagnostic imaging services in an ambulatory setting;
  • Co-location of research, education and patient care spaces to create improved knowledge translation between researchers, educators and clinicians;

The new building will allow for an expansion of existing programs including two new operating rooms and will increase the size of the Urgent Care Centre and Clinical Decisions Unit. 

All the new buildings will be designed with environmentally responsible and sustainable features in order to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, which includes rigorous requirements for energy management and conservation.

Women's College Hospital's redevelopment project will be delivered using an Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) model. Women's College Partnership will receive annual payments from Women's College Hospital over a 30-year period following construction completion. Payments cover construction, building maintenance, life-cycle repair and renewal, and project financing. Life-cycle repair and renewal will ensure that heating and cooling systems, windows, floors and roofing structures, for example, are kept in excellent working condition over the 30-year period. The annual payments are comparable to a fixed-rate mortgage with maintenance and repair expenses included and, along with payments made at substantial completion, will total approximately $941 million after 30 years. In today's dollars, this is equivalent to approximately $460 million.

“This project is part of the largest reinvestment in health care facilities in Ontario in more than a generation,” said the Honourable Brad Duguid, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. “By investing in our health care infrastructure, we are stimulating the economy, creating jobs and building stronger and healthier communities.” 

“We are designing a hospital like no other. Our state-of-the-art facility will be an easily accessible hub of programs, clinics and services that integrates care, research and education - all based on how women lead their lives. It will be a hospital designed to keep people out of the hospital,” said Marilyn Emery, President and CEO of Women's College Hospital. “We extend our gratitude to the government and our community for their ongoing commitment to making our bold vision become a reality, and look forward to a long and productive relationship with Women's College Partnership.” 

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are working with Women's College Hospital on the redevelopment. Women's College Hospital 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. 

For more information, visit www.womenscollegehospital.ca/redevelopment and www.infrastructureontario.ca.

Contacts:

Jodi Salem
Women's College Hospital
(416) 323-6400 ext. 4054 

Tom Boreskie
Infrastructure Ontario
(416) 212-6447

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