NORTH BAY REGIONAL HEALTH CENTRE OPENS ITS DOORS TO THE COMMUNITY

NORTH BAY, ON, Dec. 4 /CNW/ - The Honourable Monique Smith, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and MPP for Nipissing and the Honourable Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care joined North Bay General Hospital and Northeast Mental Health Centre officials and staff today to officially welcome the community to the North Bay Regional Health Centre.

The celebration today was an opportunity for the hundreds of people who worked on this project for years to celebrate the completion of the project.

Visitors to the new 750,000 square foot Health Centre took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Deb Matthews and local MPP the Honourable Monique Smith. Though the Health Centre will not be open to patients until the end of January, visitors were welcome to take self-guided tours of areas they may never see once the hospital is operational such as operating rooms, diagnostic imaging, the Women and Children's Centre and mental health lodges. Community members also learned about the programs and services that will be offered to patients beginning on January 30, 2011.

The North Bay Regional Health Centre is the first health facility in Canada 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 new facility was designed and constructed to achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification. LEED buildings promote healthy indoor environments by incorporating environmentally sustainable construction practices and energy efficient design.

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 was completed on time and on budget in June 2010. Following completion, hospital led small works projects began involving any changes to enhance operational efficiency, performance testing to make the building patient ready, installation of new equipment and training of over 2300 staff and volunteers.

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 delivering some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget; as well, it is dedicated to providing the public sector and not-for-profit organizations with long-term financing to renew their infrastructure.

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca and www.nbrhc.on.ca for more information.

Quotes:

Monique Smith, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and MPP for Nipissing
"I am so proud to be a part of the celebration of our new North Bay Regional Health Centre. This is an exciting day for everyone in our region. It is a wonderful chance for the thousands who have worked so hard for many years to ensure the North Bay Regional Health Centre was built to visit this amazing health facility. Our new fully accessible, state-of-the-art hospital will provide all patients in our region access to quality care and expanded services."

Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
"I know how important this day is for the people of North Bay and the region. You've worked long and hard for this day to arrive. I'm delighted that you are now able to access excellent health care in such a beautiful environment."

Alain Perron, Chair of the Joint Executive Committee, North Bay Regional Health Centre Project
"We are very proud today. This is the culmination of a dream this community has had for many years. This new health centre will provide acute care services to North Bay and the surrounding area and specialized mental health services to all of northeastern Ontario. Our staff and physicians will now work in a state-of-the-art health centre and our patients will continue to receive the high quality care they have come to expect."

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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.

For further information:

Terence Foran			Pat Stephens
Infrastructure Ontario			North Bay Regional Health Centre
416-325-2939			705-474-7525, Ext. 8228