A major step in the redevelopment of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance's Wallaceburg site is just about finished.
The Replacement Power Plant at the hospital is now in operation and powering the Wallaceburg hospital.
In mid-2020, the province announced a $7.3 million grant toward the construction of a new power plant to replace aging equipment at the hospital with new boilers, generators and electrical distribution equipment.
According to CKHA Vice President of Performance and Chief Financial Officer Aaron Ryan, the project is operational and about 99 per cent complete overall now. For the final step, the hospital is commissioning some pieces of equipment over the next few weeks.
In addition to the upgraded facilities, the power plant also features a new helicopter pad to make patient transportation easier.
"Previously staff would have to take patients through a stretcher, down the driveway to the helipad," he explained. "Now there's an indoor corridor that takes patients through the corridor, to an exit and then to a small ramp that's much closer to the helipad. It's exciting to have all this new infrastructure up and operational."
Ryan said there were several challenges along the way, mostly related to delays due to COVID-19 and supply chain issues.
After a year and a half long project, the team switched the power over to the new system a few weeks ago. According to Ryan, they were able to do it without any patient disruptions.
"When we did switch over, it was done in the middle of the night. We were able to switch over to our backup systems, turn on our new systems and then come back in and bring the hospital back onto the new system," he explained. "So all that was done without interruptions to patients."
The Replacement Power Plant Project is part of a phased approach to redeveloping the Wallaceburg Site. Ryan said hospital officials are in the planning stage of the next phase for the Wallaceburg hospital development plan which will include a new emergency department, medicine beds, and laboratory services.
According to Ryan, the goal is to have the plans submitted to the government by late fall.
He called the new power plant an amazing and exciting step in the right direction.
"This new power plant was built to have the capacity to be able to power the new builds and expansions to come at the Wallaceburg site," he said. "We're very thankful for the government's support for the Wallaceburg site. We really just believe this investment in the power plant is definitely a step forwards for the future. It's putting in the capacity for what's to come. We just think that the investment in the power plant reflects the commitment to the future of the Wallaceburg site."