Headwaters Health Care Centre (HHCC) announced last Thursday that they have reached an exciting milestone in their expansion and redevelopment project, meaning construction will begin shortly after the job is awarded to a contractor in November.

This milestone puts Headwaters one step closer to breaking ground on their new 8200-square-foot, major hospital infrastructure project.

Recently, the hospital released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to the five teams they had short-listed to bid on the project, consisting of Meit Contractors Niagara, Bondfield Construction Company Limited, Dineen Construction Corporation, BUttcon Limited and Newgen Construction Company.

Each team was prequalified earlier this year after having demonstrated their capacity to undertake a construction project of the size and complexity that would make up the expansion.

“This is a very exciting time for patients and families in the communities we serve, and for the staff, physicians, volunteers and donors at Headwaters,” said Liz Ruegg, President and CEO of the hospital. “The refreshed and expanded spaces will allow us to offer even more high-quality health care services and programs closer to the homes of our patients.”

The hospital was opened at its present site in 1997, but has not added any new space to the building. However, as demand for its ser- vices and programs has continued to grow, the decision was made to create more facilities in order to allow for them to provide better service.

The expansion, as explained by Headwaters, will create a modern space designed to meet the health care needs of patients and families who need chemotherapy and infusion services, minor procedures like stitches or biopsies, as well as to provide clinic space for specialty medical services like orthopaedics. The addition has also been designed to include space for telemedicine and patient education, something that has been deemed by the hospital as much-needed.

However, the addition is not the only change coming to the local hospital. Head- waters has also announced that they will be taking on an ‘exciting’ renovation of existing hospital space, which would allow them to add another operating room as well as improve reception and expand the pre and post-surgical recovery areas.

“These expansion and renovation projects are much-needed investments that will help us better serve the health care needs of our growing communities for generations to come,” said Ann Ford, Joint Vice President, Facilities and Redevelopment. “We are looking forward to getting construction underway as soon as possible once we select the contractor.”

It is expected that the successful general contractor will be selected and announced in early November, with construction to begin shortly after that.

Although it won’t be possible to determine the final cost of the expansion and redevelopment until Headwaters has negotiated a final agreement with the contracting company given the job, the Headwaters Health Care Foundation has earmarked $5.5 million from its recent $16-million Commitment to Care Campaign for the projects.

The funding for these projects has come from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, as well as generous support from the community.

According to a press release sent out by Headwaters last week, the Ministry will help fund the construction for the new addition, whereas the community funds will help support the renovations and new equipment costs.