North Bay's hospital is substantially complete

NEWS RELEASE

GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO

************************* Celebrating substantial completion on the North Bay Regional Health Centre

NORTH BAY - 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 yesterday 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.

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