Construction of new acute care facility creating jobs, boosting local economy

At a groundbreaking ceremony today, Monte Kwinter, MPP for York Centre, Laura Albanese, MPP for York South-Weston and Mario Sergio, MPP for York West, joined Humber River Regional Hospital officials, staff and residents to celebrate the start of construction at the future home of the acute care hospital.

Construction is expected be completed in spring 2015. The hospital project is a significant economic opportunity for suppliers and contractors in the Greater Toronto Area. At the peak of construction, the developer, Plenary Health Care Partnerships, estimates more than 1,200 workers will be on site daily.

The Humber River Regional Hospital, located in north Toronto, will have increased patient capacity from 549 beds up to 656 beds. It will enable Humber River to provide a more comprehensive range of acute care services and support for inpatient and outpatient hospital programs. The new 1.6 million square foot hospital will offer:

  • greater access to high quality health care; 
  • reduced wait times;
  • expanded emergency services;
  • increased specialized outpatient services;
  • modern diagnostic equipment for better patient diagnosis and treatment; and
  • updated infectious disease containment systems to monitor and prevent a broad range of infections. 

The design and construction of the new hospital will adhere to the guidelines and sustainability principles of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) rating system, with a goal of achieving LEED® Silver certification. LEED® buildings focus on healthy indoor environments, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and efficient use of energy, water and other resources.

The value of the contract with Plenary Health Care Partnerships in today's dollars is approximately $1.75 billion. The contract cost covers the design and construction of the hospital, building maintenance, life-cycle repair and renewal, as well as project financing.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are working with Humber River Regional Hospital to build the new facility, which will remain publicly owned and publicly controlled.

Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to delivering some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects, on time and on budget; managing one of the largest real estate portfolios in Canada and providing real estate services, such as asset management and property and land management; and providing the public sector and not-for-profit organizations with long-term financing to renew public infrastructure.

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca or www.hrrh.on.ca for more information. 

Quotes:

Laura Albanese, MPP for York South-Weston
“I am thrilled to see construction underway on our community's new hospital. This project is creating jobs and demonstrates our government's commitment to serve the health care needs of families in their time of need.”

Monte Kwinter, MPP for York Centre
“Today's groundbreaking marks a new future for Humber River Regional Hospital. It is a significant project for our community that is bringing local jobs to our community and will provide better access to programs and services close to home and our loved ones.”

Mario Sergio, MPP for York West
“The new Humber River Regional Hospital is a shared goal for a modern high quality hospital. With construction started, the reality of a new hospital providing continued quality health care and treatment to residents in our community is closer than ever.”

Dr. Rueben Devlin, President and CEO of Humber River Regional Hospital
“Today is a wonderful day for our hospital, our patients and our community as we come together to break ground for the start of construction of the new Humber River Regional Hospital. Our new facility will be the first fully digital hospital in North America. A digital hospital utilizes the most current technologies possible to enhance all aspects of quality care delivery, improving efficiency, accuracy, reliability and safety. And currently no North American hospital is fully digital. There are systems interruptions in all of them that prevent full integration and full interoperability. We're going to be the first hospital in North America to close that gap to automate all of our processes.” 

Contacts:

Terence Foran    
Infrastructure Ontario  
416-325-2939    

Gerard Power
Humber River Regional Hospital
416-243-4448

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