Construction is underway for the Milton District Hospital expansion project.
Halton Healthcare Services (HHS) announced the commercial and financial closing details of the state-of-the-art hospital expansion at Monday’s committee of the whole meeting.
The contract value is approximately $512 million, which reflects substantial completion payment and monthly service payments to the Plenary Health team, selected in January to design, build, finance and maintain the project.
“This brings us one step closer to fulfilling our vision,” said HHS President and CEO Denise Hardenne.
That vision is to create a distinctive centre of healthcare excellence that provides, through the efficient use of resources, the highest quality of clinical patient-centred care with an innovative environment that supports the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of the community, according to Hardenne.
This week, large pieces of heavy equipment will be brought to the Derry Road site and an aggressive 25-month construction schedule will begin.
The 330,000-square-foot expansion of the existing 125,000-square-foot building includes an increase of inpatient beds from 63 to 129, and the the expansion of emergency, surgical services, medical/surgical inpatient units, critical care, maternal newborn and diagnostic imaging and support services.
It will also house the first magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine in Milton.
“This truly is a historic moment in the history of the Milton District Hospital,” Hardenne told the committee.
Bill Bailey, vice-president of redevelopment for HHS, said most of the construction would begin on the Derry Road edge near Bronte Street South. A construction access road will be created and the first crane should be in place by June 2015. He predicts activity will happen on the upper floors by December or January, with a projected completion date of spring 2017. Occupancy is slated for the fall.
Ward 3 Councillor Cindy Lunau said 25 months may seem like a long time, but considering all the detail involved with the medical equipment, design and aesthetic features, it’s going to be worth the wait.
Renderings of the hospital were shown to committee members, including the new entranceway, first-floor information booths and registration kiosks, lounge areas equipped with fireplaces and comfortable chairs, four triage areas, inpatient rooms and the maternal newborn unit with eight bassinettes.
The expansion will allow the hospital to handle roughly 45,000 visits each year.
Bailey told committee members the design features amenities to make patients and visitors feel relaxed, distracted from the circumstances that may have led them there. These include floor-to-ceiling windows allowing lots of natural light, brightly-painted walls, artwork and lots of visible trees and shrubs planted outside.
“Even when the patient is lying in the hospital bed, we’ve designed it so they can see down to the ground and be connected with nature,” said Bailey.
Local and Regional Councillor Colin Best inquired about future capacity, with Milton’s population expected to grow to 228,000 by 2031.
Bailey responded: “We’ve designed the building with the next expansion in mind,” as the facility sits on 38 acres of available land.
To date, the Town of Milton has committed $35 million as the municipal government’s portion. The Province of Ontario will fund the planning and design, including 90 per cent of the 30-year maintenance costs.
The Plenary Health team was awarded the contract through a competitive request for proposal (RFP) process and is comprised of the developer, Plenary Group (Canada) Ltd., the constructor, PCL Constructors Canada Inc., the architect, B+H Architects, RTKL Associates, the financial advisor, RBC Capital Markets, and the facility manager, Johnson Controls Canada LP.
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