‘Important transition’ for Ontario hospital

All eyes within Ontario’s healthcare industry are trained on North York, where work is ramping up on the Humber River Regional Hospital’s (HRRH) new acute care complex. The project is being delivered under the Ontario government’s Alternative Financing and Procurement Program (AFP) by Plenary Health Partnerships. Currently in construction on a 30-acre site at Keele Street and Highway 401, the 1.8 million m2, 14-storey development will house 656 beds, and accommodate over 107,000 visitors per year through expanded emergency care services, state-of-the-art equipment, and patient-centred design elements.

“The hospital is embarking on an important transition to ensure it can continue to deliver the best possible care for patients and families well into the future,” reports Malcolm Lawrie, vicepresident of project delivery with thePlenary Group. “This transition is necessary to take the organisation from being a hospital constrained by the limitations of ageing infrastructure and physical plant challenges, to a facility that will be nationally and globally recognised as a leader in quality healthcare services.”

Once completed, Malcolm Lawrie reports that the new $1.75-billion facility will be one of Canada’s largest acute care hospitals, serving a catchment area of more than 850,000 people in the northwest Greater Toronto Area. The final build will be comprised of three components reflecting the facility’s core functions. These include its Ambulatory Block, Diagnostic and Treatment Podium, and the most prominent feature of the hospital, the 14-storey Inpatient Tower.