Redevelopment of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance’s Wallaceburg Site Receives Approval to Begin Next Stage of Planning
CHATHAM-KENT: December 3, 2021 – The renewal of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance’s (CKHA) Wallaceburg Site has taken another significant step with the Ministry of Health approving the organization’s Stage 1: Proposal Submissionin the next phase of the redevelopment project. Approval of the Stage 1 submission indicates the organization can move to Stage 2: Functional Program in the planning process. The organization welcomed the Honourable Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development and MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex as well as special guests to celebrate the announcement.
“More than a decade ago, I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with residents in Wallaceburg to save this Hospital,” said the Honourable Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development and MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. “This investment ensures our community will have access to the quality health care services we need now and for years to come.”
Pictured from left to right: Aaron Hall, Municipal Councillor; Alan Wildeman, Board Chair, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA); Carmen McGregor, Municipal Councillor; Honourable Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development and MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex; Lianne Rood, MP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex; Bob Hockney, Board Chair, CKHA Foundation; Lori Marshall, President & CEO, CKHA; Mary Lou Crowley, President & CEO, CKHA Foundation.
Today’s announcement marks CKHA moving forward with Stage 2 planning in the next phase of the redevelopment project. During Stage 2 of the process, detailed design planning will take place where the design is refined and plans, specifications and estimates are created. This stage will include significant community engagement outputs and cost build up estimates including a commitment to supporting the local share of costs. The design planning for this phase of the project will focus on the Emergency Department and Medical Beds, Diagnostic Imaging and Laboratory at CKHA’s Wallaceburg Site. Following submission of the Stage 2 planning documents, the proposed project will require Ministry approval to move forward to the next stage.
With a renewed focus on the Wallaceburg Site, the redevelopment project began with approval of the Replacement Power Plant Project from the Ministry of Health in spring 2018 to replace essential infrastructure with a total project cost estimated at $8.1 million dollars. The province’s grant of up to $7.3 million funding went towards the construction of a new power plant to replace aging equipment with new boilers, generators and electrical distribution equipment. The balance of the project cost is funded through hospital funds allocated for investment in this project. Completion of the Replacement Power Plant Project is expected to occur in early 2022.
“Today’s announcement reaffirms our commitment to program and service delivery at our Wallaceburg Site and reiterates CKHA’s mission, One Team – Two Sites: Serving Chatham and Rural Kent,” said Alan Wildeman, Board Chair CKHA. “We know this site is important to many in the surrounding community and has played a significant role in the provision of local health services. We are thrilled to take this next step in the redevelopment of our Wallaceburg Site and look forward to a future of enhanced health care delivery for our patients and families.”
“We are so pleased to celebrate another exciting milestone in the renewal of our Wallaceburg Site,” said Lori Marshall, President and CEO, CKHA. “This site means a great deal to patients and families in Wallaceburg and the surrounding area; each step in this multi-phase plan brings us closer to ensuring the delivery of safe, high quality care at this site for years to come.”
To meet the needs of health care delivery today and into the future, CKHA has assembled a comprehensive redevelopment plan. CKHA’s Wallaceburg Site continues to focus on the community’s emerging needs with the current services:
- 24 hour emergency department
- 5 inpatient beds adjacent to the emergency department
- Ambulatory Care including specialty clinics
- Diagnostic Imaging including radiology and ultrasound
- Respiratory therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Laboratory services (Point of Care testing)
To view the redevelopment drawings, click here.
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About CKHA
Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) is a 200 bed community hospital, serving the residents of Chatham and rural Kent including Walpole Island and Delaware First Nations. Formed in 2018, CKHA is committed to delivering quality and safe care at its two sites in Chatham and Wallaceburg. CKHA collaborates with other partners to deliver care across its community. CKHA’s dedicated team is comprised of approximately 1,400 staff, 200 physicians and 300 volunteers. CKHA provides a full range of programs, services and specialties from internal medicine and surgery to women & children’s and critical care; it is designated a schedule one facility under the Ministry of Health and cares for tens of thousands of inpatients, outpatients and emergency patients annually. CKHA is equipped with state of the art diagnostics and technology to support its varied programs. CKHA’s vision: Together, growing a healthier community, underscores a movement to improving the population’s health. Grounded by its values “CKHA CARES” (Collaboration, Accountability, Respect, Excellence, Safety), CKHA commits to continuously improve the patient experience in partnership with patients, families and caregivers.
Media contact:
Fannie Vavoulis
Director of Communications
fvavoulis@ckha.on.ca
519.359.3172
