Celebrating Substantial Completion On The North Bay Regional Health Centre

NORTH BAY, ON, June 18 /CNW/ - The Honourable Monique Smith, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and MPP for Nipissing, joined North Bay General Hospital and Northeast Mental Health Centre officials, staff and community members today to celebrate substantial completion of construction at the North Bay Regional Health Centre with a symbolic key exchange.

Representatives from Plenary Health and PCL Constructors responsible for building the facility also participated in the ceremony.

Substantial completion means the main portion of construction on the North Bay Regional Health Centre is complete in accordance with the project agreement and the facility is now turned over to the hospitals.

As one of the first Alternative Financing and Procurement hospital projects in the province, construction on the North Bay Regional Health Centre began in March 2007 and the facility reached substantial completion on time and on budget.

The new Centre will be open for patient care on January 30, 2011. Hospital-led small works projects will begin shortly and include:

• any changes to units necessary to enhance operational efficiency;
• performance testing to make the building patient-ready;
• delivery and installation of new equipment;
• training and orientation of over 2300 staff and volunteers; and
• the move beginning in early January and culminating in the patient move on January 29 and 30, 2011.

The Centre will be the first health facility in Ontario to co-locate an acute care hospital and a specialized mental health centre. The new district hospital will include up to 275 acute care beds and will feature an expanded emergency department and a consolidated ambulatory care centre. The new regional mental health centre will accommodate 52 forensic psychiatry beds, 61 specialized mental health beds and associated outpatient services. In total, the North Bay Regional Health Centre will have capacity for up to 388 beds.

The North Bay Regional Health Centre continues to stimulate the local economy by supporting about 3,000 project-related jobs and at the end of the project will have contributed approximately $230 million dollars to the regional and Ontario economies.

The new facility was designed and constructed to adhere to the guidelines and sustainability principles of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system in order to achieve LEED certification. LEED buildings promote healthy indoor environments by incorporating environmentally sustainable construction practices and energy efficient design.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care worked 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.

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca, www.nbgh.on.ca, www.nemhc.on.ca and www.nbrhc.on.ca for more information.

Quotes:

Monique Smith, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and MPP for Nipissing

"I am very excited for everyone in North Bay. We have all worked hard in partnership to see this beautiful health care facility take shape. The government's investment in the North Bay Regional Health Centre will give patients access to expanded programs and services in a fully accessible, state-of-the-art healing environment close to home."

Brad Duguid, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure

"A critical public infrastructure project like the North Bay Regional Health Centre is important for  ensuring North Bay residents have expanded and improved health care facilities and supporting the long term economic development envisioned for the region."

Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

"The opening of this new facility in January 2011 will not only improve access to quality care for this community, it demonstrates our government's commitment to improving healthcare in northern Ontario."

Murray Green, Chair of the Joint Executive Committee for the North Bay Regional Health Centre Project

"This is a wonderful day for North Bay and its surrounding communities and for all of northeast Ontario. This health centre has been a dream for many years and through much hard work and perseverance by our staff and our board members, we are here today getting the keys. It almost seems surreal."

Mike Marasco, CEO Plenary Health

"This event marks an important milestone in our 33 year relationship with the North Bay General Hospital, the Northeast Mental Health Centre, and the community of North Bay.  Our Construction partner PCL did a superb job of building a quality facility on-time and on-budget."

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Backgrounder

North Bay Regional Health Centre

The North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) is a partnership between the North Bay General Hospital and the Northeast Mental Health Centre. For the first time in Canada, an acute care hospital and a specialized mental health centre will co-locate on the same site. One of the largest public sector projects in the region's history, the 720,000 square foot NBRHC will have a total capacity of 388 beds on its 80-acre site.

The North Bay General Hospital (NBGH) and its predecessors have served the families of North Bay and the surrounding area for over 100 years. The North Bay General Hospital is a district referral centre serving the districts of Nipissing and Temiscaming. NBGH's Emergency Department and outpatient clinics each serve more than 40,000 patients every year. Specialist services such as orthopedics, neonatal intensive care, paediatrics, ophthalmology, obstetrics/gynaecology, urology, ENT (ear, nose and throat) and general surgery are provided for patients from throughout the entire district served.

The Northeast Mental Health Centre (NEMHC) is a specialized mental health centre that provides service to people throughout the region of northeast Ontario suffering from severe and persistent mental illness. Based on a recovery approach, NEMHC works with other service providers and patients and their families in the design and implementation of care. Programs include specialized adult mental health, senior's mental health, forensic psychiatry, outreach programs and a regional children's psychiatric service. The Northeast Mental Health Centre also operates regional specialized mental health beds at its Sudbury campus, consisting of 15 seniors' beds, 16 specialized beds and 12 children's beds.

As a three-storey general hospital, the new NBGH will be significantly larger and have the capacity to serve a greater number of patients. The Northeast Mental Health Centre has been designed as a two-storey facility that will provide a best-practice approach to care in a home-like, village environment.

The new district hospital includes:

• a larger emergency department with 32 treatment bays to accommodate more than 57,000 patients per year
• a new consolidated ambulatory care centre to accommodate more than 63,000 patient visits per year
• 275 acute care beds with:
• a 40-bed acute mental health unit relocated from the Northeast Mental Health Centre
• an increased bed capacity 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)—additional beds to our current compliment will be phased in over three years.

The new regional mental health centre
The new regional mental health centre will be linked to the district hospital via a shared entrance and several shared common areas. It will serve the whole of northeast Ontario, and accommodate:

• 52 forensic psychiatry beds;
• 61 specialized mental health beds;
• a client services mall, gymnasium, psychiatric offices, clinical and administrative spaces; and
• outreach services.

 Included in the regional mental health centre is a new, unique feature - the Horticultural Centre. Staff and patients will work together to grow plants and flowers. The plants and flowers will be used to decorate patient and staff courtyards throughout the facility.

The new hospital is being developed by Plenary Health with partners PCL Constructors and Johnson Controls.  PCL Constructors, are paying special attention to the environmental components of the project ensuring construction is environmentally efficient and sensitive. In addition, PCL Constructors has aimed to divert 75 per cent of construction waste from the landfill and is using recycled materials on the site.

For further information:

Tom Boreskie	Pat Stephens
Infrastructure Ontario	North Bay Regional Health Centre
416-327-5246	705-495-8127