Executive Council
Health and Community Services
May 28, 2010
Construction to Start on Health Centre in Lewisporte
Continuing with the commitment to strengthening long-term care
throughout the province, the Provincial Government will start on the
construction of a new health centre in Lewisporte. The Honourable Danny
Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, along with the
Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services,
participated in the official sod-turning ceremony on the site of the new
Lewisporte Health Centre, which once constructed will include long-term
care beds and a dementia bungalow. Premier Williams and Minister Kennedy
were joined by Rosemarie Goodyear, Senior
Vice-President of Quality, Planning and Priorities with Central
Health; Wade Verge, MHA of Lewisporte; and Brian Peckford, Mayor of
Lewisporte.
"Our government is firmly committed to improving healthcare
throughout the rural regions of Newfoundland and Labrador," said Premier
Williams. "The significant investments in long-term care supports,
including investments in infrastructure such as the new facility in
Lewisporte, reinforce our continued commitment to enhancing long-term
care within our province. This investment in the construction of the
new health centre, which includes a new long-term care home, will help
meet the current and future needs of Lewisporte residents."
Through Budget 2010: The Right Investments — For Our Children and Our Future, the
Provincial Government will invest $8 million to start construction of
the new health centre in Lewisporte, with a total investment of nearly
$30 million once construction is complete. The new facility will include
51 long-term care beds, as well as resident care services, after-hours
emergency services and laboratory and x-ray services. Adjacent to the
new facility will be a duplex bungalow designed for 12 dementia beds.
"We are listening to the needs of people of this province and making
the right investments to enhance healthcare throughout Newfoundland and
Labrador," said Minister Kennedy. "Our commitment to improving long-term
care and community supports throughout the province is very clear. In
fact, our total investment of approximately $60 million in Budget 2010
will improve services and enhance supports across the province with the
goal of a revitalized and strengthened long-term care and community
supports services system."
Site work has already started, which includes water and sewer work
and construction of the service building. A tender will be called in
June for construction of the facility, which is expected to begin in
August of this year.
"The funding approved for this phase of the project will enable
health care professionals to operate in a state-of-the-art facility and
will help enhance long-term care for an aging population," said Ms.
Goodyear.
"This is a great day for the residents of Lewisporte district," said
Mr. Verge. "I am extremely pleased to see that construction of our new
health facility will begin in the near future. The construction phase
will create additional employment opportunities in the region and the
completed project will yield a fully modern health facility. This
significant investment by the Williams Government will benefit all
people in my district through the delivery of an improved health
service."
"This investment in our health centre is tremendous news to
Lewisporte and surrounding area," said Mayor Peckford. "This facility
has been a vision of many people in our community for a very long time
and I want to thank government, especially MHA Verge, Minister Kennedy
and Premier Williams for making this vision a reality. This new facility
will enhance the ability of staff to provide safe, quality care but more
importantly it will greatly improve the care provided to residents and
patients, as well as centralize services. This announcement reaffirms
government's commitment to rural health care."
The Williams Government's significant investments in long-term care
in Budget 2010 include $27.3 million for the continued development of
two new long-term care facilities in St. John's; $4 million to start
construction on a new 250-bed long-term care facility in Carbonear; $3
million to finish construction of the Corner Brook long-term care
facility; as well as $2.1 million to finalize the long-term care
facility in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Approximately $1.7 million will be
invested in a new protective care community residence in Bonavista with
specialized care and accommodations for individuals with mild to
moderate dementia.
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