By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Long off life support, the renewal of Wallaceburg’s hospital has hit another milestone.
At a gathering of dignitaries at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) Wallaceburg campus May 1, it was announced the Ministry of Health has approved the second phase of the facility’s revamp, greenlighting the completion of detailed drawings needed prior to construction.
“This is the stage that immediately proceeds going to tender,” CKHA president and CEO Lori Marshall told reporters, noting that when the full project is done, the Wallaceburg hospital will have a new emergency department, six new medical beds, including one for palliative care, a new diagnostic imaging area, and a new lab area.
The building’s east wing will be demolished and the remaining west wing will be rejigged to allow the expansion of ambulatory care services.
There will also be 24-7 emergency services on site, something that’s “critical to rural health care,” Marshall explained.
According to Marshall, the “sketch plan submission” phase is part of the Ministry of Health’s capital planning process and will take six to nine months to complete, meaning the project could break ground sometime next year.
“We believe that if everything went according to plan that we could have a shovel in the ground in the summer of 2025,” Marshall said, adding construction will take 18 to 24 months to complete.
In her comments, Marshall acknowledged the dedication of members of Save Our Sydenham and the Wallaceburg community who fought to keep the hospital in place, as well as the Government of Ontario.
“Every stage that we progress through the planning process, it provides not only greater certainty, but also greater clarity about the level of detail,” said Marshall, adding the province would not have committed to funding the new power plant if the future was uncertain.
“The government would not have supported the power plant if there was not an intention to support the rest of the building that will go along with it,” Marshall said. “Every time we are able to make an announcement like this, it really solidifies to people that this hospital is here to stay.”
In 2022, the full cost of the Wallaceburg project, to be completed in phases, was estimated at around $42 million. That included the construction of the now completed power plant, built to replace an aging boiler system at a cost of $8.1 million.
The community is expected to raise 10 per cent of the overall cost.
Premier Doug Ford had been scheduled to attend the Wallaceburg announcement, but weather in Toronto kept Ford from making the trip. However, Chatham-Kent–Leamington MPP Trevor Jones made comments on Ford’s behalf.
“Our premier would love to be here,” Jones told the crowd, explaining that Toronto was blanketed in thick fog.
Jones had hearty praise for Marshall’s leadership and the commitment of C-K’s health care workers.
“If it’s not for you and the work you do, we don’t know where we’d be without you,” Jones said. “Because you keep people healthy and safe.”
A $9 million campaign to raise the community’s portion of the build has begun, with the Municipality of Chatham-Kent kickstarting the drive with a $4.5-million donation in 2023.
CKHA Foundation president and CEO Christine Mitchell said she has confidence the “generous, caring “community will come through to support the redevelopment project.
“We look forward to working with our partners at the provincial and municipal levels to enhance our hospital’s ability to meet the needs of health-care delivery today and into the future,” Mitchell said.
