MOUNT FOREST – Two long-awaited expansion projects at local hospitals are set to go to tender.
North Wellington Health Care has officially received Stage 4 approval from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) to move ahead with:
– the emergency and ambulatory care expansion at Louise Marshall Hospital (LMH) in Mount Forest; and
– medical education spaces at LMH and Palmerston and District Hospital (PDH).
“The next step is to proceed to tender the project,” explained Steve Street, president and CEO of North Wellington Health Care in a Jan. 22 press release.
“We will immediately begin preparing the public tendering documents for release. Vendors will have 90 days to submit proposals. We expect to evaluate and propose a contract award to the MOHLTC for approval by late spring of this year.”
Street thanked hospital staff, physicians and board members “for the countless hours they have spent to help accomplish the work to-date.
“We also are grateful to our community and foundation for their significant financial support to allow this expansion to take place.
“Staff have been working on phasing plans to minimize, as much as possible, impacts construction will have on our services. As plans for the expansion begin to unfold we will be reaching out to the community to communicate timelines.”
The LMH emergency and ambulatory care expansion will improve patient access and quality of care, hospital officials state.
It will improve infection prevention and control, patient privacy, accessibility and operational efficiencies, officials add.
Minto councillor Judy Dirksen called the approvals “good news” at the Jan. 22 council meeting.
“So these projects actually have been in the works since – are you ready? – 2011. Yep, 2011. Moving right along,” she quipped.
Dirksen said the approval means tendering documents can be released shortly “and the ministry, we’re hoping, will approve a contract by late spring.”
Deputy mayor Dave Turton said local hospital foundations have had the community share of the pending projects in hand for some time.
The LMH Foundation launched a fundraising campaign to raise $5 million in November of 2013.
The figure represented a 10% community contribution while the province committed to providing 90% of funding.
“So the money’s in the bank waiting to be spent but we still need to wait seven years for approval?” Turton commented.
“Some of it is from the ministry of health. It’s not all community money,” replied Dirksen.
“It’s nice to have it finally going,” said Mayor George Bridge.
“But don’t get too excited because it’s still years away,” Dirksen cautioned.
“A lot of shifting that has to go on because it (LMH) still has to operate as a fully functioning hospital.”
