Request for qualifications issued for Joseph Brant Hospital project

BURLINGTON, ON, April 3, 2013 /CNW/ - Infrastructure Ontario and Joseph Brant Hospital have issued a request for qualifications to design, build and finance the hospital's expansion and modernization project, the first expansion in more than 40 years.

The project includes the construction of a new six-storey patient-care tower and significant renovations to existing space to provide the growing local community with improved access to a larger, more modern hospital. Highlights of the project include:

• additional acute inpatient beds
• an expanded diagnostic imaging and medical diagnostics unit
• nine modern operating rooms
• a new post-anaesthetic care unit
• an expanded ambulatory care area
• an expanded cancer clinic
• an expanded intensive care unit (ICU)
• a renovated emergency department
• a new main entrance
• an expanded and modernized laboratory

The project will also involve the construction of a new, stand-alone power plant that will serve the expanded facility. Committed to environmental sustainability, Joseph Brant Hospital has also targeted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^®) silver certification for the building.

The request for qualifications is the first step in the procurement process to select a team to design, build and finance the project. Submissions will be reviewed to pre-qualify project teams with the design and construction experience as well as the qualified personnel and financial strength to deliver a project of this size and complexity. These teams will then be invited to respond to a request for proposals, which is expected to be released in the fall of 2013.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are working with Joseph Brant Hospital to expand and renovate the facility, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable.

The hospital is responsible for raising $120 million of the project's cost. The City of Burlington is providing a $60 million civic contribution towards the total local share and the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation is embarking on a $60 million capital campaign, the largest in the hospital's history.

Infrastructure Ontario is a crown agency of the Province of Ontario that delivers large, complex infrastructure renewal projects on time and on budget. Over the last six years, the province has applied Infrastructure Ontario's alternative financing and procurement model to 83 major projects valued at approximately $38 billion, saving taxpayers an estimated $3 billion. Infrastructure Ontario also manages one of the largest real estate portfolios in Canada, provides municipalities and eligible public sector clients with financing to renew public infrastructure, and leverages its private-sector expertise to manage major commercial transactions on behalf of the province.

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca and www.josephbranthospital.ca for more information.

Quotes:

Ted McMeekin, MPP for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale "
This project will not only help Joseph Brant meet the health care needs of our growing community, but will also create jobs and economic stimulus that will benefit our entire region."

Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
"I am excited to see this project moving forward, because it means more access to the right care, at the right time and in the right place, which is part of our Action Plan for Health Care. Once construction has been completed, the expanded hospital will ensure that people in Burlington and the surrounding community have access to patient-centered care, close to home."

Eric Vandewall, President and CEO, Joseph Brant Hospital
"This is the next important step for Joseph Brant Hospital in improving our hospital facility to ensure that we continue to provide the very best care for our patients and community."

Disponible en français

SOURCE: Infrastructure Ontario

Contacts:

Mandy Downes
Infrastructure Ontario
[phone]

Mario Joanette
Joseph Brant Hospital
905-632-3737 ext. 5544