The Kincardine hospital redevelopment project is being approved by the Ministry of Health to enter into stage three of the planning process.
The South Bruce Grey Health Centre says this is the latest step in the process of moving through the ministry’s five-stage capital planning process.
The first stage of the redevelopment project focuses on the expansion and modernization of the emergency department diagnostic imagery, laboratory, decontamination room, lobby, and back of house which includes loading and unloading. This phase comes with a $60 million price tag.
Much of the this space was constructed over 40 years ago, and the SBGHC says it is in need of an expansion as well as modernization to meet current health care needs with the new emergency department, diagnostic imaging, and laboratory space set to be about three times larger than the current space.
The SBGHC says the second phase will not occur for several years, but will include the inpatient unit and operating room, costing $113 million.
Stage three is when the SBGHC says will contain the majority of the building design, and includes the development of architectural, civil, mechanical, electrical and landscape drawings, and the functional program developed in the second stage, is brought into a two-dimensional design format.
Stage four consists of having the working drawings developed for tendering and construction purposes, with the construction itself occurring in stage five.
The SBGHC say they have been working with the Kincardine and Community Health Care Foundation since the project started in 2017.
Kincardine and Community Health Care Foundation President Becky Fair says this announcement is great news for residents of Kincardine, surrounding communities and staff and physicians at the hospital.
“The foundation knows it has the strong support of the community to meet the goal of raising $12 million for this project. Bruce Power and it supplier partners have kick-started our campaign and we look forward to getting out in our community and building health care for generations,” says Fair.
To meet the $12 million goal, the foundation launched the Building Health Care for Generations campaign for the redevelopment project and ongoing hospital medical equipment needs. Bruce Power made a $1.5 million donation, with its supplier partners donating an additional $500,000. Other contributions have been made by the municipalities of Kincardine and Huron-Kinloss.
SBGHC President and CEO Michael Barrett says this is a major milestone in moving the Kincardine hospital towards a new emergency department, diagnostic imaging department, laboratory services, and a new and expanded decontamination room.
“Together with construction now getting underway for the new CT suite addition at the Kincardine hospital, and today’s announcement that the redevelopment project is taking a significant step forward, these are exciting times for health care in Kincardine and the surrounding community,” says Barrett.
This announcement follows after the SBGHC received provincial funding to support the construction of an addition to the Kincardine hospital, to house a new CT scanner.
