By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
If all goes well, 2027 is the year construction will commence on Wallaceburg’s long-awaited hospital improvements.
According to officials gathered at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Wallaceburg campus recently, the project’s final planning documents were submitted to the province for approval Oct. 6.
Led by CKHA facilities planning manager Terra Kitzul Arens, the hospital utilized a $2.5-million provincial planning grant to complete the final submission. Throughout the process, the hospital worked hand in hand on the design with Ministry of Health (MOH) staff in an effort to head off revisions down the road.
“Working collaboratively with the MOH throughout this stage allowed us to make sure we are aligned on the project’s design and requirements before it enters the formal review process,” Kitzul Arens told reporters. “Everyone that’s worked on this should be really proud of this submission.”
The 22,000 sq. foot development, to be accessed on Dora Drive, will be built on the existing hospital’s back parking lot. The campus will include seven private treatment spaces within the ER; diagnostic imaging with both ultrasound and x-ray; a laboratory; an outdoor courtyard for patients and families; as well as a six-bed inpatient medicine unit.
New equipment and furniture are also included in the project.
At the helm for two years now, CKHA president and CEO Adam Topp said he’s constantly asked what’s going on with the Wallaceburg site.
“This is an important step forward for the Wallaceburg site redevelopment,” Topp said of the development, stating the new space will increase efficiency by supporting modern, high-quality care for patients.
“We’re really excited to have a much more functional space than we’ve had,” Topp explained. “It’s purpose-built for what the organization is now and that’s what we needed.”
Cost of the new build, originally pegged at $42 million, will climb higher due to inflation, Topp told the media, adding the number could rise as high as $50 million.
The new build dovetails with the first phase of the project – the construction of a $8.1 million power plant aimed at supporting future growth. It was finished in 2022.
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Steve Pinsonneault, who helped procure the project’s planning funding, said the Ford government is committed to building infrastructure throughout Ontario thanks to a strong economy.
The MPP said he remains committed to seeing the Wallaceburg project through, building on the work of his predecessor Monte McNaughton.
“I want to work hard to advocate to get this one over the finish line,” Pinsonneault said, adding he’s appreciative of the close working relationship hospital staff have with the government.
“I want to offer a tremendous thank you to everybody who’s helped to this point,” the MPP stated, noting Queen’s Park is aware the hospital is one of his priorities within the riding.
When the final approval comes down from the ministry – Topp estimates the process will take nine months – next steps will see the project go to tender. Costs, which will go for further approval, will be finalized after that takes place. It’s estimated the brick-and-mortar construction will take 18 to 24 months.
CKHA board chair Deb Crawford thanked Pinsonneault for his efforts, as well as the many people who have worked on the project thus far.
“Thanks to all the people in Wallaceburg who have spent a long time pushing for this,” Crawford said. “We can see what happens when we’re all together and we row in the same direction.”
