A multimillion-dollar renovation of the Petrolia hospital’s emergency and X-ray departments is closer to breaking ground.
A multimillion-dollar renovation of the Petrolia hospital’s emergency and X-ray departments is closer to breaking ground.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey joined Bluewater Health officials at Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital Friday to announce the first phase of major renovations for the site, in the works since 2016, recently crossed a Health Ministry approval hurdle.
Article content
“This is the last step before going out to tender,” said Bob DeRaad, the hospital’s clinical services vice president. “We’re optimistic we’ll be able to do that probably in the spring of 2025.”
The estimated cost of the work wasn’t part of Friday’s announcement, but it’s expected to cost millions – probably in the “high teens,” DeRaad said.
“The emergency department will undergo a complete renovation,” he said.
That includes the treatment rooms, waiting area and addition of a patient entrance separate from the ambulance entrance in the part of the Petrolia hospital dating from about the 1960s or early ’70s, DeRaad said.
Advertisement 3
Article content
Separate entrances for ambulances and “walk-in patients” are now standard at emergency departments, he said.
The Petrolia hospital’s diagnostic imaging department and equipment will also be updated, DeRaad said.
Once renovations begin, they’re expected to take 18 to 24 months and will be done in phases so the departments can stay open, he said.
The current ER was designed for 6,800 visits a year “and we are now seeing anywhere from 21,000 to 22,000 visits per year (which is driving) the need and the urgency to get this renovation done,” DeRaad said.
“We’re thrilled to be part of this major milestone” and are “committed to moving forward as quickly as possible,” said Paula Reaume-Zimmer, Bluewater Health’s chief executive.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“Over the next six to eight months, we’ll be working with our design consultants to develop the contractor drawings,” DeRaad said.
“We’re beyond the point of no return here now,” he said of the ministry decision to advance the project through its approval process. “It’s just a matter of time.”
The hospital, and its foundation in Petrolia, will be responsible for 10 per cent of the construction costs, plus equipment and furnishings, DeRaad said.
Mark Braet, who chairs the Petrolia hospital’s foundation, said it has already raised $700,000 toward its $3.1-million project funding goal.
“We are confident in the generosity and support of our community in being successful in raising the additional $2.4 million needed to bring this plan to reality,” he said.
Bailey, who was born at the Petrolia hospital, became emotional Friday while speaking about the ministry announcement.
“What a gift Jake Englehart and his wife left this town,” Bailey said of the Imperial Oil founder who donated the couple’s home to the town in the early 1900s to be its hospital.
“It’s just a pleasure to know it’s going to be here for a long time to come,” Bailey said.
Article content