Ste-Justine inaugurates ‘dream’ facilities

It took more than a decade, but Ste-Justine Hospital’s “dream” birthing centre opened on Monday, along with a new research centre, operating rooms and other clinical spaces.

Health Minister Gaétan Barrette, who inaugurated the spacious facilities, praised Ste-Justine for its forward-thinking approach in seeking to expand and modernize.

“There’s not a person on the planet who specializes in pediatrics who hasn’t heard of Ste-Justine,” Barrette said.

Barrette noted that the Côte-des-Neiges hospital’s new birthing centre is the largest in Canada and the second largest in North America after a hospital in Texas. He heaped praise on Ste-Justine even as some of its nurses and doctors have complained of the negative impact of recent budget cuts on patient care.

Barrette emphasized that the $940-million project was built on time and on budget. In fact, the cost to taxpayers of upgrading the hospital has soared by more than 400 per cent in the past decade, according to government records.

In 2004, for example, the provincial government pledged $180.6 million toward the modernization of Ste-Justine, according to a report by Quebec’s auditor-general. On Monday, Barrette did not reveal the government’s contribution to date.

A news release by Barrette’s office observed that the hospital’s fundraising arm, the Fondation CHU Sainte-Justine, contributed $72 million. In 2010, then-Premier Jean Charest announced that the government would invest $925 million.

During a tour of the birthing centre, Barrette — who is a radiologist by profession — marvelled at some of the equipment, especially in the medical-imaging department. In a lighthearted moment, he said he couldn’t resist handling some of the new equipment himself.

There’s not a person on the planet who specializes in pediatrics who hasn’t heard of Ste-Justine.

The expansion, built in phases, has taken up several city blocks along Côte-Ste-Catherine Rd. and Decelles Ave. The new clinical and research wings have increased Ste-Justine’s surface area by 65 per cent. Most of the construction has been completed, but the redevelopment of existing buildings is expected to end in 2018.

Among the highlights of the project:

Ste-Justine is to house a total of 419 patient rooms, all of them private and each with its own toilet and shower. Of that number, 14 have been set aside for the birthing centre, including a special room for twins or triplets.

There are 11 state-of-the-art operating rooms and three rooms for medical imaging and other procedures.

The research centre is to specialize in both fundamental and clinical advances, with 82 labs.

Fabrice Brunet, executive director of both Ste-Justine and the Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal, said the new facilities will benefit from the finest medical technology and design, including a “an orthopedic operating room of the future, where surgeons will be guided by artificial intelligence.”

“There is not an area of Ste. Justine that does not have the latest in technology,” Brunet said.