Despite a cold wind whipping off the river, about 40 people gathered outside La Verendrye Hospital last Thursday afternoon for a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the beginning of the Phase IV renovations there.
“Wow. It’s finally underway,” John McTaggart, chair of the Riverside Foundation for Health Care board, said at the ceremony.
He noted it’s been a long time since the stretcher push from the Rainy River Health Centre to La Verendrye was held as part of the Foundation’s “Care Close to Home” fundraiser campaign, but that it’s been worth the wait.
McTaggart said with communities from Mine Centre to Rainy River contributing to the fundraising, the Phase IV renovations were an agreeable vision of “Care Close to Home” that finally has become a reality, adding the end result will be “bright and modern addition that will enhance care close to home.”
The $12.2-million project is funded partially by the Ministry of Health, which announced $7.4 million for it last summer, and partially by the Foundation, which has collected $4.8 million in pledges.
Fort Frances Mayor Dan Onichuk, who also was on hand for Thursday’s ceremony, said he felt the hospital would be “great for the whole region,” and was glad to see “we’re finally getting off the ground.”
“I think when we’re all finished, we’ll have a world-class facility we can be proud of,” echoed Riverside CEO Wayne Woods.
“We have been working on this for a very long time,” noted Craig Sanders, who chairs the board of directors of Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc., adding Woods had found documents regarding the renovations in hospital files dating back to 1989.
Teresa Hazel, communications officer for Riverside and director of the Foundation, admitted the project has seen some delays, but that these delays should be seen as a positive thing to “be sure the project meets our needs today and in the future.”
The ceremony also introduced the Phase IV project team, consisting of Ed Cousineau (project manager), Liz Clark (patient services), Mary King (infection control), Henry Gauthier (information technology), Sandy Beadle (project secretary), Everett Freeman (accounting), Hazel (communications), and Woods.
Also present were representatives from LM Architects (architects, planners, and designers on the project), structural consultants Crosier Kilgour and Partners Ltd., mechanical and electrical consultants Leipciger Kaminker Mitelman and Partners Inc., and general contractor Penn-Co Construction Canada.
The ground-breaking was followed by refreshments in the hospital cafeteria, where guests could look over the plans for the Phase IV renovations.
The renovations—which will take up to two years to complete—will include new emergency rooms, waiting rooms, operating rooms, labs, and an X-ray department.
The expansion also will include re-locating the dialysis unit, having a specific area for chemotherapy, and possibly getting a computerized tomography (CT) imaging unit, which has the ability to image a combination of soft tissue, bone, and blood vessels.
Work done so far has included the removal of the former Riverside Community Counselling Services building as well as the removal of brickwork from the east wing of the hospital, which ultimately will be expanded southward.
In related news, Hazel noted tickets are selling fast for a fundraising concert for the Phase IV renovations featuring the Thunder Bay Legends—“A Tribute Artist Extravaganza.”
But she added some tickets still are available for the live performance, which will be held Saturday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Townshend Theatre.
The evening will feature “appearances” by Trisha Yearwood, Shania Twain, Loretta Lynn, Neil Diamond, Patsy Cline, Billy Joel, ABBA, Connie Frances, Roy Orbison, George Strait, Johnny Cash, Tim McGraw, and, of course, The King (Elvis Presley).
Tickets for the show, which cost $20 each, are available at The Place, Cousineau Brokers, and McTaggart’s, or by calling 274-4803.
This event is sponsored by Penn-Co Construction Canada Ltd., general contractor for the Phase IV renovations.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
