Let the countdown begin!
The North Bay Regional Health Centre will be open for patient care in one year - January 30, 2011
February 2, 2010
Let the countdown begin! (PDF, 22 Kb)
NORTH BAY, ON February 1, 2010 - The Northeast Mental Health Centre and the North Bay General Hospital officially began counting down the days until the new North Bay Regional Health Centre opens its doors to patient care.
"It is hard to believe that we are one year away from being in our new hospital. This once-in-a-lifetime event is the culmination of many years of hard work and planning by our dedicated staff, volunteers, fundraisers and community members," says Murray Green, Chair of the Joint Executive Committee.
Plenary Health, the consortium building the new health centre, will be handing over the keys in June 2010 but several more months of work will be required to make the building patient ready.
"While the building is considered to be 80% complete, there is still work that needs to be completed before we move in," says Dave Smits, Director of Transition Planning. "Certain areas have been declared clean, which means access is restricted as each area's performance is tested one unit at a time," Smits explains.
"Once we have the keys, we will begin to make any changes on the units that are necessary to enhance operational efficiency, receive new equipment, and orient 2500 staff with site visits," says Smits. "We decided to hold off on the move until after Christmas in the hopes of giving staff a chance to take a break, enjoy the holidays and come back in the New Year ready to go."
Beginning in early January 2011, several departments will begin to move to the new health centre, but the actual patient move has been scheduled for January 29, (NEMHC) and 30 (NBGH), 2011. Health Care Relocators, a Peterborough company specializing in hospital moves, has been hired to carry out the move.
Construction on the new North Bay Regional Health Centre began in March 2007 and this facility was the first Alternate Finance and Procurement (AFP) hospital project announced by the province of Ontario. The centre is a partnership, the first of its kind, between an acute hospital (NBGH) and a specialized mental health centre (NEMHC) and has been designed to provide a spectrum of health services for both physical and mental health care needs.
In November 2009, the two hospital boards announced the intent to amalgamate the two organizations into one new organization that will provide acute care to the local area and specialized mental health services to the entire northeast Ontario region. The plan is to complete this amalgamation over the next three years.
For further information please contact the Public Relations Department, a joint service between NBGH and NEMHC, at 705-495-8127.
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