BOWMANVILLE — As part of its comprehensive plan to end hallway health care, the Ontario government is investing $2.5 million to support the redevelopment of Lakeridge Health's hospital site in Bowmanville. This funding will be used to offset the costs of planning the renewal and expansion of the hospital's infrastructure.
The announcement was made today by Lindsey Park, Member of Provincial Parliament for Durham and Parliamentary Assistant to the Attorney General on behalf of Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.
"Durham is one of the fastest growing regions in Ontario and Bowmanville Hospital had its last major expansion over 30 years ago," said Park. "Today's announcement will help modernize our community hospital and ensure Lakeridge Health can deliver better patient-centered and timely care, both now and into the future."
As part of this project, the current Bowmanville Hospital will be redeveloped through a mix of new construction as well as renovations to the existing facility to help Lakeridge Health deliver high-quality health care that meets the needs of those living in Bowmanville, Clarington and surrounding areas.
In addition to the redevelopment project, Ontario is also supporting the development of an interim helipad for Bowmanville Hospital. The interim helipad will improve how Lakeridge Health safely transfers critical patients to and from Bowmanville Hospital while the redevelopment project is being completed. The support for the interim helipad will be separate from the $2.5 million planning grant provided for the redevelopment project.
"Investing in projects like the redevelopment of Bowmanville Hospital is a key part of our government's plan to build a connected and sustainable public health care system and end hallway health care," said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. "This investment will help ensure the people of Bowmanville and neighbouring areas have access to the modern facilities and services they need, when they need them."
Quick Facts
Ontario’s 2020 Budget outlines the government’s significant investments with a focus on health care and long-term care. This includes the total investment of $351 million for more than 2,250 new beds at 57 hospitals and alternate health facilities across the province.
For Lakeridge Health, the government has invested in more hospital beds for patients with COVID-19, added six additional ICU beds, 24 additional beds for Acute Care, and 40 additional beds for Alternate Level of Care.
On December 9, 2020, Health Canada approved the first COVID-19 vaccine in Canada, manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, and on December 23, 2020 approved the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Moderna. Health Canada approved the vaccines after independent and thorough scientific reviews for safety, effectiveness and quality. Health Canada will continue to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.
The first delivery of 53,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine arrived in Ontario on December 30, 2020. Vaccine administration commenced at long-term care homes beginning on December 31, 2020.
Ontario received 95,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine by December 21, with regular weekly shipments of Pfizer vaccine expected starting January 2021. Additional delivery sites will be offering the vaccine to the key populations by the end of January.
To date, over 122,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
Quotes
"This is an unprecedented time for health care across the region as Lakeridge Health builds an integrated acute care system to better serve people living and working throughout Durham Region. This important renovation and expansion will provide modern facilities for our talented team to deliver care that will improve the patient experience and enhance access to those programs and services our community needs most."
- Cynthia Davis
President and CEO of Lakeridge Health
"Part of what makes Clarington such a great place to live is access to quality health care services at our local hospital. Moving to the next stage of expanding and revitalizing Bowmanville Hospital brings us one step closer to ensuring the community will have access to high quality health care for generations to come."
- Sharon Cochran
Chair, Lakeridge Health Board of Trustees
"This is great news! We are pleased that our government has moved forward with this planning grant for the redevelopment and expansion project for Bowmanville Hospital. Today’s announcement is exciting and we are thankful for the attention and interest we continue to receive from our government, hospital staff, and community. It’s a great way to begin the New Year and this is a big step forward towards meeting the growing health care needs of people and communities across Clarington and beyond."
- Chris Kooy
Board Chair, Bowmanville Hospital Foundation
"On behalf of the entire community, I want to thank the Province for their commitment to the Bowmanville Hospital expansion. Today’s exciting announcement moves forward a long standing and major project that will support Clarington’s health care needs for years to come. Our population has outgrown our current hospital, and this expansion cannot come soon enough. I am also very happy to support the plans for the interim helipad. Ornge services are critical to supporting both Clarington and Durham Region patients. Having a safe place to land so close to the hospital will expedite life-saving care for many of our residents."
- Adrian Foster
Mayor of Clarington
