Shovels in the ground for Grimsby's new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital
For residents of west Niagara, Saturday was a long day coming.
Ground was officially broke on the new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital. After years of community driven activism, the new hospital is becoming a reality - no longer just a rallying cry.
On April 29, Ontario approved the start of construction to begin on the new Hamilton Health Sciences site following the closing of the project contract between Ellis Don Infrastructure Healthcare, Hamilton Health Sciences and Infrastructure Ontario. The next day, shovels were in the ground to mark the start of the next chapter.
Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff made the announcement on behalf of the provincial government.
He was joined at the podium by key representatives from Hamilton Health Sciences, West Lincoln Memorial Hospital Foundation and the West Niagara community.
"The pandemic has shone a bright light on the need for continued investment in modern health-care facilities designed to meet the highest standards of safety and enable health-care workers to provide the most exceptional experience possible for patients and families," said Rob MacIsaac, president and CEO of Hamilton Health Sciences.
"We are excited about the future of West Lincoln Memorial Hospital as a site of Hamilton Health Sciences and are grateful to the government for its unwavering support to build a modern hospital in this region."
Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton said the municipality is very pleased to see construction begin, noting the new hospital will benefit residents of the community.
"Each municipality is pleased to contribute to this very important project as timely access to critical care and clinical services is an important component to creating a complete community," she said, before thanking the province and Oosterhoff.
Tony Joosse, co-chair of the Save and Rebuild Campaign, encouraged all the doubters to open their pockets and to donate to the hospital, as they are in the home stretch of their fundraising efforts and wish to finish strong.
While Premier Doug Ford was unable to attend the event in person, with a little help from Oosterhofff, he was able to call in and address the crowd.
I've never seen a community get behind a hospital like this," he said. I cannot wait to come down and pay you a visit."
"We're getting shovels in the ground to build the new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital to ensure people and families in this growing community can access the care they need and deserve closer to home," said Ford.
Oosterhoff said he was born at WLMH in 1997, months after the rallies to save the hospital earlier that year.
Infrastructure Ontario has awarded a fixed-price contract of $224-million for the new build. Some of the new features planned include acute in-patient beds, a 24-hour emergency department, maternal and newborn services, day surgical services including endoscopy and minor procedures, increase ambulatory care space and advanced diagnostics including X-ray, mammography, ultrasound and CT scanner.
The new WLMH will be constructed behind the existing facility, allowing the hospital to remain operational until the new one is built.