Construction of new Western Memorial Regional Hospital complete

Construction has been completed on time and on budget for the new Western Memorial Regional Hospital (formerly the new Corner Brook acute care hospital), representing another successful public private partnership (P3) project in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Video credit: PCL Constructors Canada Inc.

In an event today at the new hospital in Corner Brook, the building was officially handed over by the Corner Brook Health Partnership (CBHP) to the Honourable Dr. Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. 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 seven-storey, 600,000 square foot 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 hospital will maintain the same name as its predecessor, Western Memorial Regional Hospital. Earlier this fall, NL Health Services conducted a survey and consulted with community partners to consider options for the name of the new facility and found strong support for the existing name.

The handover marks the conclusion of major construction of the building and the start of the 30-year term of facility management by Corner Brook Health Partnership (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.

While the new facility will provide health care services in a modern, state-of-the-art environment, it is also 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. A video relating to the construction of the hospital and its key design features can be found here.

The new adult mental health and addictions hospital in St. John’s, currently under construction, is the fourth public-private partnership infrastructure project in the province, and is slated to be opened in 2025. All P3 projects have led, or are leading, to modern health care infrastructure in Newfoundland and Labrador with a goal of improved service delivery.

Quotes

“This new state-of-the-art acute care hospital will provide a more modern health care environment for the residents of the western region. The official handing over of the building from Corner Brook Health Partnership today represents a major milestone in our continued efforts to improve health care service delivery in our province. We worked with community partners to deliver this project on time and on budget, and I look forward to seeing the same for our government’s other major infrastructure projects, like the new adult mental health and addictions hospital in St. John’s. ”

Honourable Dr. Andrew Furey
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador

“This is a great day for the western region of our province and for health care infrastructure in general, as we begin the process of moving this project from a building to a hospital. During construction, the percentage of workers on this project from Newfoundland and Labrador was consistently greater than 90 per cent, and we will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure all of our infrastructure projects are providing employment for Newfoundland and Labrador workers and companies.”

Honourable John G. Abbott
Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure

“This new hospital will significantly improve the delivery of health care for everyone in the region. The new seniors-friendly emergency department, the adjacent long-term care home will also be a more welcoming environment to seniors. While staff at the current Western Memorial Regional Hospital will move to the new hospital, our recruitment strategy is working and we continue to recruit for vacant positions. We are looking forward to the new hospital opening in 2024.”

Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Health and Community Services

“The completion date of our new state-of-the-art hospital is finally here. While our frontline health care providers remained dedicated to the task of providing the best care for their patients, our government committed to providing new tools and a new home for them and for these services. As I look upon this amazing facility, I’m very proud to have served on the leadership team that made sure it happened. Today is a very great day for Corner Brook and the entire region.”

Honourable Gerry Byrne
Minister of Immigration, Populations Growth and Skills and MHA for Corner Brook

“NL Health Services is appreciative of the support of our employees, our government and community partners throughout the planning and construction phase of the new hospital. We are excited to be so close to opening the new regional hospital, where patients will notice significant enhancements including all private inpatient rooms, improved flow due to strategic program adjacencies, and an increase in natural light. Our next focus is to ensure that employees and the new Western Memorial Regional Hospital are ready for opening in spring 2024.”

Teara Freake
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Western Zone
NL Health Services

“The Corner Brook Health Partnership team is thrilled to be celebrating the completion of the new Western Memorial Regional Hospital. This facility stands as a testament to the collaborative efforts and professionalism of our entire team and our strong partnership with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. Together, we were able to deliver this major infrastructure project on time, despite the headwinds faced by the construction industry throughout the pandemic. This project showcases how the strengths of a public-private partnership can lead to successful outcomes. We look forward to continuing our partnership as the new hospital serves the region for generations to come.”

Hafeez Habib, Senior Vice President, Plenary Americas
Corner Brook Health Partnership

“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 healthcare project to date, the Corner Brook Health Partnership team put our shared passion to work to bring the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and NL Health Services’ vision to life,” said Marc Pascoli, senior vice president and district manager. “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.”

Media contacts

Meghan McCabe
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960
meghanmccabe@gov.nl.ca

Maria Browne
Transportation and Infrastructure
709-729-1758; 709-699-6147
mbrowne@gov.nl.ca

Laura Thomas
Health and Community Services
709-729-6986; 709-727-0341
laurathomas@gov.nl.ca

Tara Pye
NL Health Services
709-784-5252
tarajpye@westernhealth.nl.ca