Health and Community Services
February 14, 2011

Milestone Reached on Construction of
New Health Care Centre in Labrador West

The new health centre in Labrador West has taken another significant step forward as the contract for the main building package and completion of the facility has been awarded to Pomerleau Inc. for approximately $55 million. With significant progress already made at the site, and substantial completion expected in late 2013, this new facility will serve as a cornerstone to the residents and communities of this region for generations to come.

“Labrador West is a growing region with a bright future and our government is ensuring that a robust and responsive health care system is in place to meet the needs of the people,” said the Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services. “Recent investments, including the new satellite dialysis unit set to open this spring, and CT scanner that will be operational in the coming months, demonstrate the value we place on providing the best health care services possible in this region and throughout the province.”

Once complete, the new health care centre will have 14 acute and 14 long-term care beds, general laboratory and x-ray services, a computed tomography (CT) scanner, surgery suites, satellite dialysis and community services.

“This government continues to make significant investments in the health care services and infrastructure in our region, benefiting the well-being of all residents,” said Jim Baker, MHA for Labrador West. “I am thrilled to see the construction of this centre progressing and look forward to its completion in 2013.”

The latest contract is for the main building package and includes the construction of the exterior building envelope − the installation of the walls, windows, roof, exterior finishes, final site grading and roadwork. Also included in the contract are the landscaping, interior partitions, stairs, floor and roof decking, interior floor slabs, interior building finishes, final building connections for water and sewer plus all mechanical and electrical services throughout the building.

There has been significant progress made to date on the development of the new health care centre which will be located on Route 500 just north of Labrador City. Ongoing work on this site has seen contracts awarded for the site development which included the initial site clearing, grubbing, rough grading and access roads, the extension of municipal services to the site, and a contract for foundations and structural steel that is now substantially complete.

Additional tenders will be called in the near future for the water tank and associated work to meet the needs and design requirement for a redundant water supply to the health care facility, as well as water flow requirements for fire protection.

“This significant move forward towards project completion demonstrates the Provincial Government’s continued commitment to improved healthcare services in Labrador West,” said Boyd Rowe, CEO of Labrador-Grenfell Health. “We look forward to serving our clients from this new modern facility.”

The new health care centre in Labrador City will replace the Captain William Jackman Memorial Hospital and upon completion will represent an investment of approximately $90 million in health care infrastructure. This is one of several recent health care investments in this region including a new satellite dialysis unit and $1 million announced this past September for the purchase of a new 64-slice CT scanner. Budget 2010: The Right Investments – For Our Children and Our Future provided an investment of $208.9 million for health care infrastructure throughout the province, including investments in new construction, redevelopment of existing facilities, purchase of new medical equipment and repairs and maintenance.

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2011 02 14                                                          11:00 a.m.