Health care needs evolve. It’s important that our facilities and services also evolve over time to meet the needs of the population. The following redevelopment initiatives achieved significant milestones in fiscal year 2019-20.

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Redevelopment

The CBRM Redevelopment Project is a multi-year, phased project to redesign and rebuild health care infrastructure to support patients and families, health care teams, physicians and researchers now and into the future, in the communities of North Sydney, Glace Bay, New Waterford and Sydney and surrounding areas.

Thanks to the dedication of our leadership team, clinical teams, physician leads and patient family advisors, project milestones from the 2019-20 fiscal year include:

Sydney (Cape Breton Regional Hospital and Hospice): The design contract for the new emergency department, critical care department and Cape Breton Cancer Centre at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital (CBRH) was awarded to EXP.

In January 2020, the construction management contract was awarded to Pomerleau Lindsay Construction Joint Venture. Construction of a replacement parking lot began to make way for the expansions that will be built at the back of CBRH.

In August 2019, the provincial government announced $1.75 million in annual operating costs to support a 10-bed community hospice. It is expected to be complete in 2021. The new building will be operated by Nova Scotia Health.

Northside: The site and services included in the new health centre, 60-bed long-term care facility and laundry centre was announced in August 2019.

The new health centre will include X-ray and ultrasound, blood collection, EKG, physiotherapy, public health, continuing care, mental health and addictions and more. Thanks to the input from local physicians and staff, 12 sub-acute short-stay in-patient beds will also be included.

The new builds will be located on Memorial Drive in the Northside Business Park. The design contract for the laundry facility, health centre and long-term facility home was awarded to Architecture 49 and HDR.

Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2020.

New Waterford: New Waterford will be home to an innovative community hub that will include a new school, community health centre and long-term care home, located on the Breton Education Centre site.

The new health centre will include X-ray and ultrasound, blood collection, EKG, physiotherapy, public health, continuing care, mental health and addictions and more. Twelve sub-acute short stay inpatient beds will also be included.

New recreational facilities will be built to make way for the community hub, including: an artificial turf field, grass sports field, tennis courts, washrooms and storage facilities. LAT49 Architecture Inc. was awarded the contract to design the sports fields and recreation facilities.

The RFP for design services for the community hub closed on March 31, 2020.

Glace Bay: Planning continues on renovations and expansions to the emergency department and surgical suites at the Glace Bay Hospital. Construction of a new, six-station renal dialysis unit is underway.

The renal project is expected to be completed late in the summer of 2020.

North Cumberland Memorial Hospital replacement

Construction of a new hospital to replace the North Cumberland Memorial Hospital in Pugwash is expected to begin in fall 2020.

This new facility will improve the quality of primary care and help recruit health care professionals to the region.

The current facility, built in 1966, operates 24 hours, seven days a week. It provides urgent, ambulatory and primary care, inpatient short-stay care, laboratory and diagnostic imaging, rehabilitation services, palliative care and other community-based supports. It is also part of the Collaborative Emergency Centre model.

The hospital serves the communities of Pugwash, Wallace, Port Howe and surrounding areas.

The Nova Scotia Government is investing $25.5 million in this project.

QEII New Generation Project

The QEII New Generation Project is the largest health care project in Nova Scotia’s history. Project milestones within the 2019-20 fiscal year include:

Dartmouth General Hospital

The three-storey Neville J. Gilfoy wing opened to staff and patients on December 9, 2019. It includes:

• • The modernization of the medical device reprocessing (MDR) department on level one.
• • Five new operating rooms (OR) have opened on level two. Three of these ORs are being used in the interim as post-anesthesia care units.
• • Outpatient clinic space, endoscopy and temporary cardiac investigations on level three. • The atrium is now complete and accessible through levels two and three.
• • The 24-bed 5E Inpatient Unit (IPU) is also complete and ready for future operation. IPU 5W will be complete in 2021.
• • The hospital parking lot was resurfaced creating additional parking spaces.

As we celebrate these major milestones, the project continues to move forward with the beginning of the next phases of renovations. This includes:

• • Renovating the old MDR space into a new pharmacy
• • Expanding the dialysis unit
• • Renovating the diagnostic imaging department, the new day surgery, new Intensive Care Unit, Intermediate Care Unit and recovery area, all to be complete within the next two years.

Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre (COC)

• • The request for proposals (RFP) has closed, and proposals from three companies have been accepted to design, build, finance and maintain the new outpatient centre.
• • Construction activity is expected to begin in fall 2020.

The Halifax Infirmary

Recent developments within the Halifax Infirmary expansion project include:

• • Working closely with Halifax Regional Council on a new parking plan for the project that will feature a 500-space parking garage on the north side of the Museum of Natural History. A 1,000-space above ground parkade and power plant will be located on the Halifax Infirmary site of the QEII at the former CBC building site.
• • In addition, a tender to demolish the former CBC building on Bell Road was awarded to Asbestos Abatement Limited in early March of 2020.
• • Demolition of the CBC building is expected to begin summer 2020.
• • The Design Build Finance Maintain request for proposals for the Halifax Infirmary expansion is scheduled to be issued in fall 2020.
• • Construction is expected to start in fall 2021 with substantial completion in summer 2026.

Chemotherapy Preparation Lab

• • This project reached substantial completion and will progress to implementing the workflow solution this upcoming fiscal year.

The project in its entirety represents a once in a generation opportunity for the province to rethink and rebuild the way health care is delivered in Nova Scotia, in order meet the needs of current and future generations of Nova Scotians.

South Shore Regional Hospital expansion and modernization

The expansion and renovation of the South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will begin in the spring of 2021 and is expected to take seven years to complete.

The project includes the expansion and renovation of the emergency department, endoscopy and day surgery units and physical plant, as well as the addition of a dialysis unit.

The current hospital was built in 1988. It currently has 85 inpatient beds, including medical, surgical, ICU, obstetrics and mental health units.

The South Shore Regional Hospital Redevelopment Project is in partnership with the Nova Scotia Government, Health Services Foundation of the South Shore and South Shore Regional Hospital Auxiliary.

The Government is investing $112.7 million into this project.