NORTH BAY - The foundation of the North Bay Regional Health Centre was laid today.   Nipissing MPP Monique Smith and Joint Executive Committee Chairman, North Bay Regional Health Centre Project, Roger Marleau, assisted with the first concrete pour for the base slab of the new 388-bed facility. Kelvyn Lavelle from Plenary Group also participated in the event. 

“I'm thrilled to mark this important construction milestone,” said MPP Smith. “The foundation poured today is the base from which a state-of-the-art facility will be built for our region.” 

The North Bay Regional Health Centre project is a co-location of the North Bay General Hospital and the Northeast Mental Health Centre.

The new North Bay General Hospital will serve a population of 129,000 and expand services to include:

  • a larger emergency department with 32 treatment bays to accommodate over 57,000 patients per year;
  • a new consolidated ambulatory care centre to accommodate over 63,000 patient visits per year;
  • 275 acute care beds, which includes: 
  • a 40-bed acute Mental Health Unit relocated from the Northeast Mental Health Centre 
  • an increased capacity of beds in the Critical Care Unit, from 10 to 16 beds, in the Complex Continuing Care Unit from 10 to 42 beds, and in the Rehabilitation Care Unit from 10 to 29 beds.

The new Northeast Mental Health Centre will be linked to the general hospital via a shared entrance and several shared common areas. It will serve the whole of northeast Ontario, with a population of 511,000, accommodating:

  • 52 forensic psychiatry beds; 
  • 61 specialized mental health beds;
  • a client services mall, gymnasium, workshops, psychiatric offices, clinical and administrative spaces; and
  • outpatient services for the region.  

“Now that concrete has been poured on the base slab, we'll be able to see the future of our local hospital services grow each day,” said Roger Marleau “We are all looking forward to this project being completed and our hospital being available for all members of our community.” 

Economic projections estimate that during the project's construction, more than $150 million in salaries will be paid and approximately $70 million in supply purchases made from local businesses. An average of 250 workers will be on site daily over the course of construction.

More than 2,200 cubic metres of concrete footings have been poured and more than 2,100 steel foundation piles have been installed to date. Foundation work is expected to be completed by March 2008.

Infrastructure Ontario is working with the North Bay General Hospital and the Northeast Mental Health Centre to manage the construction of the North Bay Regional Health Centre, 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.

The project is guided by principles outlined in the Province's Building a Better Tomorrow framework, which ensures public ownership of core assets such as hospitals, schools and water and wastewater facilities.  The North Bay Regional Health Centre project is one of many infrastructure projects being constructed, upgraded and modernized under ReNew Ontario, the government's five-year, $30-billion plus public infrastructure investment plan.

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca for more information. 

Contacts: 

Amy Tang
Minister's Office
Public Infrastructure Renewal 
416-325-4048 

Terence Foran 
Infrastructure Ontario 
416-325-2939 

Pat Stephens 
North Bay Regional Health Centre 
705-495-8127