• Pay Bills
• Contact
• Français

• Public Notice

• Follow Niagara Health on Twitter

Construction of health complex hits one-year milestone

• Date of Issue: Tuesday, April 27, 2010

ST. CATHARINES – Tomorrow officially marks the one year anniversary of the start of construction on the Niagara Health System’s new health-care complex in west St. Catharines.

Construction of the long-awaited facility began following a celebration held on April 28, 2009, which included over 500 attendees. The ground was ceremonially broken by It’s Our Time fundraising campaign patient heroes on excavators driven by operators from Walker Industries, Matt’s Excavating, Rankin Construction and PCL Constructors.

PCL has held true to its commitment of supporting the local economy by working extensively with the local sub-trades, with the majority of on-site labour being conducted by tradespersons in the Golden Horseshoe area.

The first year of construction included many noteworthy accomplishments:

• Advanced clearing of the site due to favourable soil conditions;
• Completion of the building foundation and overall clinical design;
• Erection of half of the concrete structure; Installation of web cameras for progress monitoring;
• Mobilization of PCL’s on-site construction offices;
• Building permits obtained from City of St. Catharines;
• Received permit from Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for construction of radiation suites; and
• Start of offsite fabrication of the building exterior.

Coincidentally, today marked the delivery of the first major mechanical equipment to service the new health-care complex with the placement of four chillers in the basement mechanical room. The chillers are components of the building’s environmental management system which will chill the fluid used to cool the air in the new facility.

With a capacity of 900 tonnes, three of the units are 18 feet long, seven and a half feet wide and nine feet tall with an operating weight of 40,000 pounds each. The fourth is a 246 tonne unit that is 13 feet long, six feet wide and seven feet tall with an operating weight of 17,600 pounds.

To date, certain parts of the basement structure have been kept open, waiting for the installation of this critical equipment. A strong indicator of the project being on schedule is the fact that the chillers are being delivered to the day projected in planning and scheduling over the past 18 months.

Over the next few months the remaining concrete structure will take shape at a faster rate and construction will begin on some of the building’s exterior.

Construction of the new health-care complex will be completed by the end of 2012. Following a four month transition stage including installation of new furniture and equipment, as well as extensive staff training, the health-care complex will open its doors to patients in 2013.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are working with the Niagara Health System and Plenary Health Niagara to build the new health-care complex, 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.

Visit nhs.plenaryprojects.com for more information and to view the web camera and monthly aerial images.

Backgrounder

NIAGARA HEALTH SYSTEM

The Niagara Health System (NHS) consists of seven sites serving 434,000 residents across the 12 municipalities making up the Regional Municipality of Niagara.

NEW HEALTH-CARE COMPLEX

The state-of-the-art health-care complex to be located at First Street and Fourth Avenue in St. Catharines will replace the aging St. Catharines General Site and Ontario Street Site (formerly the Hotel Dieu Hospital) and will provide new regional services never before available in Niagara, including treatments for cancer, heart disease and longer-term mental health disease.

The 970,000 square foot facility will include:

• The Walker Family Cancer Centre to provide close-to-home treatment for the more than 1,200 cancer patients who currently travel to Hamilton or Toronto for life-saving radiation treatment;
• A new Regional Longer-Term Mental Health Centre with longer-term inpatient mental health beds, combined with acute inpatient mental health beds and ambulatory care services for Niagara residents;
• A new Regional Cardiac Catheterization Centre to provide diagnostic investigation services, reducing hospitalizations for heart disease, lowering wait times and improving access to treatment;
• 80 per cent single patient rooms, the most available in a community hospital in Ontario;

• Environmentally friendly design features resulting in LEED® certification as part of the government’s commitment to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions;
• CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear) containment capability to deal with infectious outbreaks and disasters;
• More windows to enhance natural light in patients’ rooms and public and staff areas;
• State-of-the-art operating suites designed to take advantage of sophisticated image-guided and laparoscopic surgery; and
• A patient focused site design with healing gardens, ponds and walking paths.

The community-based hospital of up to 375 beds will offer acute and critical inpatient services, surgical, emergency and ambulatory services available under one roof for the residents of St. Catharines, Thorold, Niagara-on-the Lake and the area.

When the project is completed, Niagara will be home to one of the most up-to-date health care facilities in the province, with infrastructure to care for and treat the unique health needs of the Niagara region; ensuring care is provided to Niagarans in Niagara.

Visit nhs.plenaryprojects.com or www.infrastructureontario.ca for more info.

IMPORTANT CONSTRUCTION DATES