Construction has been completed on time and on budget for the new Western Memorial Regional Hospital, representing another successful public-private partnership (P3) project in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In an official ceremony, the building was officially handed over by the Corner Brook Health Partnership (CBHP) to the honourable Dr. Andrew Furey, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services (NL Health Services) is now in operational control of the facility and will begin the process of moving equipment and staff to the new facility, with the goal of opening the new hospital to the public in spring 2024.
The handover marks the conclusion of major construction of the building and the start of the 30-year term of facility management by CBHP. The partnership consists of the following major participants: Plenary Americas, PCL Investments Inc., PCL Constructors Canada Inc., Marco Services Ltd., B+H Architects, Parkin Architects, The Cahill Group, Plan Group Inc., and Johnson Controls Canada.
In 2019, CBHP was selected to design, build, finance, and maintain the new acute care hospital in Corner Brook with a contract value of $750 million.
The seven-storey, 55,742 m2 (600,000 sf) facility has 164 beds, with the same services currently provided at the existing Western Memorial Regional Hospital. The new facility will also host an expanded cancer care program, including radiation services. The new hospital is connected to the 145-bed long-term care home opened in 2020, which was also constructed as a P3 project, combining to form a health care campus in the region.
The new facility is built on environmentally friendly infrastructure. The geothermal system in the facility will translate into electricity savings of approximately 4,600,000 kWh annually, which is enough to heat 500 homes for a year.
“Reaching this important construction milestone at the new Western Memorial Regional Hospital is a testament to the collaborative efforts and commitment from everyone involved. From recording more than two million worker hours without a lost-time injury, to building one of the largest geothermal heating and cooling systems in a Canadian health care project to date, the CBHP team put our shared passion to work to bring the government of Newfoundland and Labrador and NL Health Services’ vision to life. On behalf of PCL Construction and Marco Group Limited, congratulations to all of our partners and the tradespeople who persevered through the global pandemic to safely deliver this important civic landmark on time as the next step in advanced healthcare for the province,” says Marc Pascoli, senior vice-president and district manager.
