Stage 2 submission for Kincardine Hospital redevelopment project completed

South Bruce Grey Health Centre (SBGHC) has completed the Stage 2 submission of the Ministry of Health’s five-stage capital planning process for the Kincardine hospital redevelopment project.

The 1,800-page report was endorsed by SBGHC’s Board of Directors at their regular meeting on March 3rd and has been submitted to the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health. The first phase of the redevelopment project, which was included in the 2020 Ontario Budget as one of the government’s healthcare investments that are in planning, includes an expansion of the Emergency Department, Diagnostic Imaging, Laboratory and Lobby Services, totalling $65M.

The second phase of the redevelopment, which will not occur for several years, will include the inpatient unit and operating room. This portion of the project is estimated at $113M.

During the design of the Functional Program and block diagrams for Stage 2, user-group meetings with various stakeholder groups were held to better understand workflows and future needs of each department. As part of this process, the square footage for the Emergency Department, Radioactive Decontamination Suite, Diagnostic Imaging and Laboratory were expanded from the scope that was proposed in Stage 1 of the project to better meet the needs of the community into the future.

With the upcoming Major Component Replacement Project at the Bruce Power Nuclear Facility, the population of the Kincardine area will increase significantly in the coming years, with a corresponding increase in demand on the Kincardine hospital’s Emergency Department, Diagnostic Imaging, and Laboratory Services. Also included in the Stage 2 submission is the calculation of the local share fundraising requirement, determined based on the total project cost.

The Kincardine and Community Health Care Foundation has been working closely with SBGHC since the start of the redevelopment project in 2017, having two Foundation Board member representatives on SBGHC’s Kincardine Redevelopment Oversight Committee, and have committed to fund the estimated $10.1M local share for Phase 1 through a capital campaign to be launched following Ministry approval of Stage 2.

To support the development of the Stage 2 Functional Program Submission, the Ministry of Health provided a one-time capital-planning grant of up to $1,520,000, bringing the total one-time Ministry funding for this project up to $2,020,000. The Municipalities of Kincardine and Huron-Kinloss have also supported the planning costs of the project, contributing $300,000 and $50,000 respectively in 2016.

The next steps for the project after Stage 2 approval is received are the preliminary design and drawings for the space (Stage 3), the development of working drawings (Stage 4), and tendering and awarding construction contracts (Stage 5).