​Kincardine Hospital redevelopment takes another important step forward

The Kincardine Hospital redevelopment project has passed another significant milestone, receiving approval from the Ontario Ministry of Health (MOH) to advance to the next stage of the capital planning process.

That’s the word from the South Bruce Grey Health Centre, which operates the hospitals in Kincardine, Walkerton, Chesley and Durham, in a press release issued Friday.

This advancement brings the project to the final stage of detailed planning before approval to
proceed to construction. During this stage of planning, working drawings that are suitable for
public tendering will be developed.

The project includes an expansion and modernization of the emergency department, diagnostic imaging department including a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) suite, laboratory, decontamination room, lobby, and back of house (loading/unloading). The majority of this space was constructed over 40 years ago and is in need of expansion and modernization to meet the current health care needs of the Kincardine community.

The new emergency department, diagnostic imaging and laboratory space will be almost three times larger than the current space and will be designed to best meet the current and future needs of the patients served by the Kincardine Hospital.

“This approval marks an important milestone for the redevelopment project, for our organization, and for the communities we serve,” said Nancy Shaw, president and chief executive officer of the health centre. “It brings us one step closer to expanding and modernizing the Kincardine Hospital, ensuring our patients continue to receive exceptional care in modern, accessible, and innovative facilities.”

In addition to the significant investment being made by the health ministry to redevelop and expand this hospital, the Kincardine and Community Health Care Foundation has been working closely with the health centre since the start of the redevelopment project in 2017 and has set a fund-raising goal of $18-million to support the local share for the project and other capital equipment needs for the hospital.

The Building Health Care for Generations capital fund-raising campaign has raised almost $12-million, to date.

“This is an exciting time for the citizens of Kincardine and surrounding areas,” said foundation president Becky Fair. “We look forward to the construction of an improved health-care facility, and a system that will serve our community for generations.”