Markham Stouffville Hospital expansion and redevelopment project attracts
industry interest

MARKHAM, ON, Jan. 18 /CNW/ - Markham Stouffville Hospital President and CEO, Janet Beed , joined hospital officials, staff and community members to provide an update on the hospital's enabling works project and to announce the companies that have pre-qualified to build and finance the hospital expansion and redevelopment project.

The enabling works project, which began in fall 2009, includes relocating the existing storm and sanitary sewers, relocating the staff parking lots, constructing an access point off of 9th Line which will allow construction traffic to be separated from regular traffic and completing construction work on the courtyard adjacent to expand the Emergency Department. This interim expansion to the Emergency Department will create a separate Rapid Assessment Zone with five stretchers that will allow for more rapid assessment of patients and improve overall patient flow.

This work will ensure that the hospital's operations and facilities will continue to function smoothly and efficiently during its expansion and redevelopment project and that the site is ready for the contractor who will be awarded the main redevelopment project.

Markham Stouffville Hospital's expansion and redevelopment includes a new addition to the south and west of the existing building that will double the size of the facility. As well, space in the hospital that is vacated as a result of programs moving into the new building, will be renovated.

Once under construction, this new facility will create hundreds of new jobs and stimulate economic spin-off.

Once complete, the hospital will have a new emergency department, expanded ambulatory clinics, more inpatient beds and operating rooms, a new diagnostic imaging department, a new maternal child area and a new mental health unit.

Over the past few months, companies participated in a rigorous and competitive request for qualifications process that began on October 15, 2009 . This process reviewed their construction management capability and experience, and their financial capacity to undertake a project of this size and complexity.

Six companies have been pre-qualified to build and finance the hospital's expansion and redevelopment project and will be invited to respond to a request for proposals (RFP) in March 2010 . The pre-qualified companies include:

    
           -  Aecon Buildings & Turner Construction Company (Joint Venture)
           -  Bondfield Construction Limited & SNC-Lavalin Construction Inc.
              (Joint Venture)
           - EllisDon Corporation
           - Obrascon Huarte Lain S.A. (OHL S.A.)
           - PCL Constructors Canada Inc.
           - Vanbots, a Division of Carillion Construction Inc.
    

These companies are diverse and their team members include many local contractors and businesses. In their proposals, the pre-qualified companies demonstrated a strong interest in partnering with local companies and businesses.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are working with Markham Stouffville Hospital to build the new facilities, 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 for more information.

Disponible en français

Quotes:

Deb Matthews , Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

"Today's announcement marks an important milestone for the Markham Stouffville Hospital and the people it serves. This is an exciting day for the community."

Michael Chan , MPP for Markham-Unionville

"This is a significant project that will serve the healthcare needs of Markham and the surrounding communities. I am thrilled to see the project take another step forward."

Dr. Helena Jaczek , MPP for Oak Ridges-Markham

"By improving health care infrastructure, we are demonstrating our government's continued commitment to serving the health care needs of people across the province."

Janet Beed , President and CEO, Markham Stouffville Hospital

"This announcement brings us one step closer towards our new state-of-the-art facility. We look forward to continuing this exciting journey with our partners."

For further information: Lisa Joyce, Markham Stouffville Hospital, [phone]; Jessica Hooker, Infrastructure Ontario, [phone]