Short-listed Project Teams Invited To Bid

ST. CATHARINES - St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley announced today that the Niagara Health System project has reached another key milestone with the release of a request for proposals (RFP) to design, build, finance and maintain a new health-care complex that will replace the existing Ontario Street and St. Catharines General sites.

“The new hospital and cancer care centre will mean better health care for our growing, aging community,” said Bradley. “Today's announcement demonstrates the McGuinty government's commitment to providing the resources and infrastructure that will address the health care needs of all Niagarans.”

MPP Bradley joined Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor; Dr. Carol Sawka, Vice President of Clinical Programs at Cancer Care Ontario; Betty-Lou Souter, Chair of the Board of Trustees; and Debbie Sevenpifer, President and CEO of the Niagara Health System, along with hospital staff to announce the RFP release during a sign unveiling event at the site where the new health-care complex will be built.

“I know first hand how difficult it is to travel outside your community, far from home and your family, to receive specialized cancer care,” said Craitor. “I am delighted to be here, taking this important step to make life easier for the people of Niagara.”

“Today's call for project teams brings the community of St. Catharines and the Niagara region one step closer to having a larger facility with a wider range of health-care services under one roof,” said David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal. “This project is one of many in the McGuinty government's $30-billion plus infrastructure investment plan to modernize public infrastructure, while ensuring value for taxpayer dollars.”

“This project is an essential part of the McGuinty government's plan to modernize hospitals, reduce wait times and upgrade medical equipment in the local community and across the province,” commented George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. “The addition of radiation treatment alone will mean that close to 1,000 people from the Niagara region no longer have to travel to Hamilton or Toronto for cancer care.”

The following three project teams were short-listed through a request for qualifications (RFQ) issued in November 2006:

  • Hospital Infrastructure Partners Inc. (HIP) 
    • Carillion Canada
    • EllisDon Corporation
    • Labourers' Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Ontario 
    • Stantec/Murphy Hilgers Architects
    • Rybka, Smith and Ginsler
  • Plenary Health (Plenary)
    • Plenary Group
    • PCL Constructors
    • Bregman+Hamann Architects 
    • Silver Thomas International Architects
    • Johnson Controls 
    • Deutsche Bank
  • Infusion Health
    • Bilfinger Berger BOT
    • John Laing
    • Vanbots Construction
    • Parkin Architects/Vermeulen-Hind Architects in Joint Venture
    • Honeywell Building Solutions
    • RBC Capital Markets

These teams have the construction, operational, maintenance and financial capacity required to undertake a project of this size and complexity. Once submissions to the RFP are received and reviewed, the successful team will be selected. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2008.

“Our patients and their families deserve a new modern hospital with the programs, equipment and expertise needed for them to receive life-saving health care right here in the Niagara region,” said Debbie Sevenpifer, President and CEO of the Niagara Health System “Thanks to the unwavering support of our physicians and staff who have committed countless hours developing the specifications for the hospital, partnered with commitment from the government, we've made an important step in the direction of better healthcare.”

"This milestone in the construction of the new regional cancer centre is tremendous news for people living in and around Niagara," said Dr. Carol Sawka, Vice President, Clinical Programs, Cancer Care Ontario. “Niagara Health System already has high quality chemotherapy and cancer surgery services and with the new centre and radiation services will soon offer the full spectrum of high quality cancer treatment services in one location.”

Once complete, the 375-bed community hospital will serve St. Catharines, Thorold, Niagara-on­the-Lake and surrounding communities with a full range of acute/critical, surgical, emergency and ambulatory services.  The new health-care complex will also house new regional services including cardiac catheterization, radiation treatment for cancer patients and 53 new longer-term mental health beds. The addition of these regional services will ensure closer-to-home access to advanced-level care for the more than 434,000 residents across the Niagara Region.

Infrastructure Ontario will work with the Niagara Health System to construct the new hospital, 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.

This 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 Niagara Health System project is one of many infrastructure projects being upgraded and modernized under ReNew Ontario, the government's five-year, $30­billion plus public infrastructure investment plan.

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca  for more information.

Contacts:

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

Mandy Downes      
Infrastructure Ontario   
416 325-5325

Caroline Bourque-Wiley 
Niagara Health System 
905-378-4647 x 43113 

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