South hospitals need to last seven years
South Niagara hospitals need to last at least seven years before a new hospital is built to replace them.
Until then, Niagara Health System will “continue to provide quality safe care in well-maintained facilities as we move forward with planning for a new hospital,” Angela Zangari, vice-president of finance and operations, said Tuesday.
The provincial government included funding for a new south Niagara hospital in its budget this year, but Zangari said that new hospital is at least seven years from becoming a reality.
“It’s a long time,” she said, adding existing facilities need to last “at least” that long.
And with two provincial elections taking place in the meantime, she said the completion of a new hospital could be longer yet.
“We don’t know,” Zangari said. “A lot can happen.”
On Tuesday St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley announced $1.68 million in funding to help ensure NHS hospitals remain in good shape for years to come.
The funding, provided as part of the provincial government’s $175-million Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund, will help pay for improvements to Niagara’s older hospitals in Niagara Falls, Welland, Port Colborne and Fort Erie.
NHS director of planning and engineering services Amir Gill said the work includes roof replacements, as well as heating and air conditioning systems, fire alarms and backup generators.
The NHS budget for infrastructure repairs this year is about $3.7 million, but Gill said the $1.68 million in provincial funding “is still very appreciated.”
Zangari said over the past four years the NHS has invested $8.5 million in building maintenance and repairs.
She said the four-year-old St. Catharines hospital does not require any repairs or improvements, allowing the full funding to be put towards other hospitals.
Bradley did announce $280,806 in infrastructure renewal funding for Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre, as well as $2.3 million for Norfolk General Hospital, $322,525 for West Haldimand General Hospital, and $132,338 for Haldimand War Memorial Hospital.