CBHP completes Corner Brook hospital
By Adam Freill
Construction InstitutionalConstruction of new Western Memorial Regional Hospital wraps up on schedule; officially set to open for patients this spring.
Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook, N.L. (Photo courtesy of PCL Constructors Canada Inc.)
Construction has been completed on time and on budget for the new Western Memorial Regional Hospital, a public private partnership (P3) project in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In an official ceremony held earlier this month, the new hospital in Corner Brook was officially handed over by the Corner Brook Health Partnership (CBHP) to Dr. Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. NL Health Services is now in operational control of the facility and will begin the process of moving equipment and staff to the new facility with the goal of opening the new hospital to the public in spring 2024.
“This new state-of-the-art acute care hospital will provide a more modern healthcare environment for the residents of the western region,” stated Premier Furey. “The official handing over of the building from Corner Brook Health Partnership today represents a major milestone in our continued efforts to improve healthcare service delivery in our province.”
The handover marks the conclusion of major construction of the building and the start of a 30-year term of facility management by CBHP, a partnership consisting of Plenary Americas, PCL Investments Inc., PCL Constructors Canada Inc., Marco Services Ltd., B+H Architects, Parkin Architects, The Cahill Group, Plan Group Inc., and Johnson Controls Canada.
In 2019, CBHP was selected to design, build, finance and maintain the new acute care hospital in Corner Brook with a contract value of $750 million. The seven-storey, 600,000 square foot facility has 164 beds, with the same services currently provided at the existing Western Memorial Regional Hospital. The new facility will also host an expanded cancer care program, including radiation services.
And while the new facility will provide healthcare services in a modern, state-of-the-art environment, it is not just the services and equipment that have been updated and upgraded. The structure makes use of modern, environmentally friendly infrastructure in its building systems as well, having been equipped with a geothermal system that will generate electricity savings of approximately 4,600,000 kWh annually, or enough to heat 500 homes for a year.
“Reaching this important construction milestone at the new Western Memorial Regional Hospital is a testament to the collaborative efforts and commitment from everyone involved,” Marc Pascoli, senior vice-president and district manager at PCL Constructors Canada Inc. “From recording more than two million worker hours without a lost-time injury, to building one of the largest geothermal heating and cooling systems in a Canadian healthcare project to date, the Corner Brook Health Partnership team put our shared passion to work to bring the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and NL Health Services’ vision to life.”
The new facility, which will maintain the same name as its predecessor, is also connected to the 145-bed long-term care home that opened in 2020. That facility was also constructed as a P3 project, combining to form a healthcare campus in the region.
The province also has a new adult mental health and addictions hospital currently under construction in St. John’s, the fourth public-private partnership infrastructure project in the province. That facility is slated to open in 2025.
