By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Northumberland County council’s Community Health Committee got a look at the new Campbellford Memorial Hospital project at Tuesday’s meeting, provided by board chair Carrie Hayward and CMH President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Hohenkerk.
The timing is great, Hohenkerk said, as Campbellford and Trent Hills can expect a 25% growth in population by 2051.
The new site for Campbellford Memorial Hospital and Campus of Care will be the 48 acres a local farmer donated in 2022 that sit near the corner of County Roads 30 and 35. The hospital will have 60+ beds, and the campus will include a long-term care home (in partnership with Omni Quality Living) with up to 256 beds, a supportive senior-housing development of 40 to 50 units, a community mental-health clinic, a Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Network, primary care, professional offices and green space for activity and recreation.
Hohenkerk said it is an opportunity to collaborate with neighbouring Peterborough Regional Health Centre and Northumberland Hills Hospital to address the regional health-care needs of an aging population and increasingly complex care demands.
“We have outlived our building,” he said of the current 72-year-old hospital.
“The infrastructure is no longer worth the investment.”
Current time lines call for the project to take six to eight years, and for the hospital alone to cost about $400-million.
Hayward said there are other considerations, such as complex planning and infrastructure processes, including the severance of the land to complete the land donation and extending water mains and sewer lines.
She also noted that the provincial government only pays 90% of the construction costs, leaving the community on the hook for 10%. And the community is entirely on the hook for furnishings and equipment – another $45-million – because none of that comes from the province.
Needless to say, the CMH Foundation is kicking into high gear, as the government will not proceed unless they show the community’s ability to finance what is termed the Local Share.
Hayward said they will require the county’s support in terms of such things as planning, engineering, and infrastructure, as well as collaboration on the seniors’ housing component.
Councillor Bob Crate, who is the Mayor of Trent Hills, pointed out that right next door to the site is a parcel of land where a housing project is planned for 320 homes.
Committee Chair Olena Hankivsky added that population projections might even be understated, as the Wesleyville nuclear development might provide “a huge jump” on top of that.
The important thing is the collaboration, Councillor Mandy Martin said.
“This is the way, and our strength – this is the way to go,” Martin stated.
