Government's Investment Will Help to Improve Health Care Services 

Today is the last day for pre-qualified building teams to submit bids to build and finance the Bluewater Health Norman Site expansion and renovation.

With the addition of 325,000 square feet of space, the hospital will almost double in size. The larger, more modern facility will house an emergency department twice the size of the existing department and a consolidated maternal infant child program which will, for the first time, offer labour, birthing and paediatric services on one floor. The project will also provide the space for additional acute care beds.

“Through ReNew Ontario, the government's $30-billion plus infrastructure investment plan, we are renewing and modernizing infrastructure,” said Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal David Caplan. “This plan ensures value for taxpayer dollars as we build strong, prosperous communities.”

“Ontario's hospitals are an integral part of our health care system,” said Minister of Health and Long-Term Care George Smitherman. “Our investment today will provide even better care in facilities that are modern, well-maintained, safe and comfortable for patients.”

The request for proposals (RFP) to build and finance the Bluewater Health project was issued on October 20, 2006. The bid submissions will be evaluated over the next few months and a successful bidder is expected to be named in summer 2007.  Construction is scheduled to begin shortly thereafter. 

“We're excited to see this project moving forward,” said Sarnia-Lambton MPP Caroline Di Cocco. “Through redevelopment and expansion, Bluewater Health will be better positioned to meet the health care needs of our growing community, both today and in the future.” 

“Our staff, physicians and volunteers at Bluewater Health have been integral in the process to reach this stage of our community's vitally important hospital building project,” said David Vigar, President / CEO, Bluewater Health.  “2007 is going to be an exciting year for our hospital and community as our project continues to move closer to completion.”

 Infrastructure Ontario will work with Bluewater Health to redevelop the 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 Bluewater Health project is one of many infrastructure projects being 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. 

Backgrounder

Bluewater Health, with hospital sites in Sarnia and Petrolia, has a total of 320 beds. The hospital has 1,700 staff, 100 credentialed physicians and 800 volunteers who care for 319,000 patients annually. Bluewater Health is the winner of the Ontario Hospital Association's “Green Health Care - Overall Leadership Award - 2005”.

The Bluewater Health project will involve the new construction of a five-storey building and renovations to the existing Norman Street and the Russell Street buildings.

This project will involve renovations to approximately 130,000 square feet of existing space and the addition of approximately 325,000 square feet of new space, which will almost double the hospital's size. 

Highlights of the Bluewater Health project: 

  • An Emergency department twice the size of the current emergency facilities. 
  • A 30,000 square foot Surgical Centre with eight new operating rooms and four new procedure rooms to replace existing surgical facilities. 
  • A consolidated maternal infant child program, which will, for the first time, offer labour, birthing and paediatric services on one floor. 
  • An 18 per cent increase in acute care beds resulting in a total bed complement of 337 between the two Sarnia sites. 
  • A 50 foot-wide bridge that will join the new building with the Norman Street Building, along with a two-storey-high public atrium.

Construction is expected to begin in summer 2007. 

Contacts: 

Amy Tang  
Minister's Office
Public Infrastructure Renewal
416-325-8735

Mandy Downes 
Infrastructure Ontario
416-327-5325 

Toni Adey 
Bluewater Health 
519-464-4452 

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