The long-awaited plans for the modernization project of the Lachine Hospital were unveiled to public Monday, despite staffing shortages at the West Island facility remaining unresolved.
The two-phase project is slated to begin construction in the spring and last an estimated four to five years.
Starting in May, the new hospital wing will begin taking shape on the south end of the building, facing the park.
The new state-of-the-art building will have a new increased capacity intensive care unit, operating rooms and single care patient rooms.
Once completed, work will shift focus to the renovation and modernizing of the century-old hospital, bringing it up to today’s standards, according to Pierre-Marc Legris, director of technical services at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).
“Pretty much all the major activities of the hospital will be inside the new building once completed. The external building will be used for external clinics and support services,” Legris said.
The MUHC, which oversees the Lachine Hospital, estimates the project will cost $223 million.
“We don’t expect an have any cost overruns because the project is well planned,” Legris said.
The announcement comes just as the Lachine Hospital emergency room once again has opened its doors to ambulances between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., seven days a week.
The Lachine Hospital, has gradually been reinstating services since it first announced a partial closure of the ER on Nov. 7, 2021.
Meanwhile, the MUHC said it is actively recruiting to fill positions for nurses and respiratory therapists and is working to find solutions to allow for the reopening of the intensive care unit and 24/7 ambulance access.
“It’s open to ambulances in the day but we need it in the evening and we need to get our ICU fully staffed. And we are not far from that,” Paul Saba, Lachine Hospital Council of Physicians president, said.
Saba is enthusiastic about the new project and the benefits it will bring to the West Island hospital and the community — predominantly French — it serves.
Saba hopes the current staffing shortages will be continually worked on all while the new facility is being built.
“This will be a pull of attraction,” Saba said.
The MUHC said the new project will entice and attract new staff to the help with the shortage, calling the modernization project “a source of pride and hope to our current staff.”
“Thanks to this ambitious project, the Lachine Hospital will become an attractive facility, which the most competent and caring healthcare workers will be eager to join,” the MUCH said in a statement.
“This is like a dream come true, seeing the final drawings. It’s pretty amazing,” Lachine Mayor Maja Vodanovic said.
Vodanovic has been campaigning for the project for years and is glad to finally see it come to fruition.
During the four-year construction period, parking at the hospital will be dramatically reduced because of work crews.
Vodanovic says the city in partnership with the hospital will have a full shuttle service in operation to help ship people and staff to a nearby parking lot.
“We are looking for better solutions,” Vodanovic said.
Once finished, the new site will see the removal of 40 parking spots . No underground parking is being built.
Vodanovic says the city will have a committee in place to hear resident concerns concerning the parking in the area.
“We will make sure we hear from everybody,” Vodanovic said, adding that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
“It’s amazing to have a nice community hospital at the heart of our community where everybody can come to and get the best care.”