The Groves Memorial Community Hospital board has taken one more step toward a new facility.
Late last week, the board received notice the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) would support its requested planning grant, thus giving local approval for a new hospital.
Groves President and Chief Executive Officer Jerome Quenneville said in an interview the plan for a new hospital “has good support from the [LHIN].”
Quenneville explained that at one point, the local network was not part of the funding process for a new hospital, but then the province decided it would make no sense to build a hospital without consulting about local needs. He said the letter from the network supports the new hospital project as part of the need locally.
That will free up provincial money at some point.
“Before the Ministry of Health is able to approve a major capital investment they want to make sure it fits into local health care planning,” Quenneville said.
He added the next stage “is basically handed off to the people in Toronto,” and the key now is when the money will be made available.
Groves received a $500,000 grant to make its business case for a new hospital. Quenneville said the next stage is planning, and that will cost at least $9-million and will take over a year to complete.
There could be a wait, though, because he said the Groves proposal now joins a list of other major capital projects across Ontario “that have similar approval” from their local health networks.
He said the next step is to determine how soon the Groves plan can get on the list for capital planning.
Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott said he is pleased the network has finally expressed formal support for the project.
“As we plan for the future, we’re going to need our new hospital in Centre Wellington,” said Arnott. “It’s now up to the Minister of Health to approve the planning grant, so we can keep moving forward.”
LHIN CEO Sandra Hanmer endorsed the Groves capital request to plan for development of a new “acute care facility of the future” in a Dec. 8 letter.
“Credit should go to the hospital board, staff, and volunteers,” said Arnott. “We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated group of community leaders. Their efforts continue to improve our quality of health care, and I’m honoured to work with them.”
But Quenneville noted the costs for a new hospital keep rising.
At a public meeting in 2007 when the hospital considered a new site (at Wellington Place in Aboyne), the total cost for a new hospital was just over $70-million “if construction started in 2010.”
That is no longer possible, and the cost has gone up. It will take all of next year just to do the planning, if a grant is available. Quenneville estimated that if hospital construction is delayed until 2012, the cost will now be $100-million.
He noted one reason for the delays was the added role of the LHIN in hospital planning. That was not a factor when the earlier estimates were done.
Last month, Arnott introduced a resolution in the legislature to call on the Liberal government to approve the planning grant. He has regularly reminded the government of the need and the strong community support to proceed with the new hospital.
“I am not satisfied with the ministry’s approval process for new hospital construction, which seems to go in circles,” said Arnott. “Our community needs to advocate, loudly and clearly, and I’ll continue to make the case at Queen’s Park.”
But Quenneville is confident money will eventually arrive.
“Things are certainly moving ahead,” he said.
He noted, too, that the $3-million CT Scanner recently installed at the current hospital can be moved to its new home when the new hospital is built.
