NEW HOSPITAL COULD COST REGION $120M
Is a levy in taxpayers’ future?
The region might have to find up to $120 million to cover its share of the construction costs for a new megahospital.
MPP Teresa Piruzza (L — Windsor West) told county councillors recently the province would pay 90 per cent of the price to build the hospital, while local communities would be responsible for 10 per cent.
Windsor Regional Hospital estimates the cost of merging HotelDieu and Windsor Regional would be $1.2 billion with the local share being $120 million, said Ron Foster, spokesman for Windsor Regional.
Foster said the estimate does not include the purchase of property. Omar Raza, senior adviser for Piruzza, said a new hospital needs at least 50 acres of space.
The task force analyzing the feasibility of constructing a megahospital will report its initial findings next week. While Piruzza’s office won’t comment on whether the task force will recommend a new facility, there has been no opposition to the proposal, Raza said.
Over the next decade, both hospitals are slated to spend tens of millions of dollars on renovations, Raza said.
“It would be a greater cost to renovate both sites in their current plans than to have one single acute care facility,” he said. Both hospitals were urged by Piruzza to continue with capital works plans on existing buildings.
Piruzza told county council that if approved, a new megahospital would not be built for seven to 10 years.
The task force studying the need for a mega hospital hasn’t spoken with area municipalities on how to pay for the structure. County Warden Tom Bain said he doesn’t know how the county would pay its share, which would be in the tens of millions of dollars.
“I know ( county council) has been supportive of health programs,” he said making reference to Wednesday’s vote to partly pay for the WindsorEssex County Health Unit’s budget shortfall.
“We’d have to look at creative ways to figure out how it would be done and how it would be spread.
“We’ll pursue the province to pick up a larger share if it’s too big a burden for the local taxpayers.”
Essex Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche said there is support in the community to pay for a new hospital. He noted that two years ago the county committed $5 million over 10 years to Hotel-Dieu, the John McGivney Centre and Windsor Regional for capital projects.
“It would help if the province fronted us the money and we paid it back over 10 years,” he said. “The hospital needs to be accessible to area residents.”
He suggested locating it near Highway 401 and Walker Road. He said one of the biggest complaints he gets from residents is about provincial services only being available in Windsor like the Children’s Aid Society on Riverside Drive.
Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos questioned how a task force could make a recommendation on the feasibility of a megahospital without knowing whether the community can afford to pay for it.
“It’s nice to have a dream but we have to look at the realities and what we can afford,” he said.
City of Windsor Treasurer Onorio Colucci said the city has received no request to help pay for the new megahospital.
“What I’ve heard from this council is that health costs are a provincial responsibility,” he said.
A local tax levy to support the hospital would not be unprecedented; the city and county did it in 1999.
In Windsor, residents paid on average $25 a year on property taxes to help raise $14 million over seven years, while the county increased its general levy to raise $11 million over seven years. The money went to help pay for $117 million in renovations to Hotel-Dieu Grace, Windsor Regional and Leamington Memorial. Another $15 million was raised by corporations and private sponsors with the rest of the funding coming from the province.