THUNDER BAY — Patients, staff and visitors will be breathing a bit easier at St. Joseph’s Hospital once a multi-million dollar project to upgrade the old air handling unit on one side of the building is completed, hospital officials say.
The over-$17-million project will see the replacement of the system that filters, regulates and circulates air throughout the original part of the building, which is located on Algoma Street on Thunder Bay’s north side.
“We've known for the past four to five years that this infrastructure upgrade was critical to modernize our hospital site here at St. Joseph's Care Group,” said Byron Ball, the organization’s vice president of infrastructure quality and chief financial officer. “It's been something we've been working with the Ministry of Health on for that period to try and figure out how to make this project a reality.”
The existing system on the original part of the building has seen a series of renovations over the past 25 years, Ball said, but the time had come “to upgrade the equipment to meet new design standards.”
The healthcare organization has been working with the Ontario Ministry of Health over the past 18 months on the project, Ball said. “It's not a question of whether the project needs to get done but how to get it done,” he added.
The province announced $17 million in funding for the project on Monday. Ball said that money is expected to cover the majority of the total cost; St. Joseph’s Care Group is responsible for about 10 per cent, Ball said, adding that their share of the money is secured from other sources. The hospital also said the project will reduce the facility’s carbon footprint, as implementing equipment that is up to modern-day efficiency standards will have numerous benefits.
There is no timeline in place yet for when the project is slated to be put out for tender, Ball added.
“We're having regular meetings with the ministry about that approval process and then once we get there, (a) tender will be issued and then (we’ll) move to (the) construction phase,” he said.
