www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, March 5, 2010 · 4 Doctors say new hospital will improve patient care n Continued from page 3 "If we are concerned about what future generations will think, let us ask how our own children will judge this decision," he said. "Will they be happy that we saved $20 off the tax bill at the suggestion of a pollster or will they be thankful that we supplied a CT scanner for our emergency rooms when their grandmother slips and falls. Will our principled stand for exclusive provincial funding mean that a generation of school kids grow up in Oakville with inadequate and outdated hospital space? I certainly hope not." Other delegations heard by council included Halton Healthcare Services Chief of Staff Dr. Lorne Martin, who talked about being able to save a young child because the community had raised the money to provide OTMH with the diagnostic equipment it needed. Martin said that need is growing with the community. The staff at OTMH, he said, need more room, more beds and more equipment in order to continue to do their lifesaving work properly. Dr. Neil Rau, medical director of infection prevention control for Halton Healthcare Services, said an outbreak of Norovirus, which happened this week at OTMH, would have been much easier to bring under control in an 80 per cent single patient room facility like the proposed new hospital. Norovirus is a normally non-lethal virus, which is usually limited to causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, howev- "If we are concerned about what future generations will think, let us ask how our own children will judge this decision." Resident Mark Dawson er, this virus still forced the closure of a ward at OTMH. Rau said this was significant not only because the patients' experience in the hospital was bad, but because 13 OTMH staff members became ill during the outbreak and a number of beds had to remain vacant to prevent the further spread of infection. Rau said a person in a single-patient room at OTMH did get the virus, but maintained patients have a greater risk of getting hospitalborne diseases if they are in a ward bed. During Wednesday's meeting, council did get close to some of the answers they were seeking. In a conversation with Infrastructure Ontario's John McKendrick, council learned the interest rate for the $200-million loan from Infrastructure Ontario would be 4.86 per cent if the Town borrowed it immediately. McKendrick, however, could not say what the interest rate would be in five years when the Town actually needed it, but said it would be locked in place for 30 years. He also said that if the Town borrowed the $200 million now, the interest would start accruing immediately. Councillors asked McKendrick why Oakville is being asked to pay so much more for a hospital than any other community. In Barrie the community was asked for $52 million towards a new hospital; the City of St. Catharines was asked to contribute $31 million; the Region of Niagara was asked for $21 million; the City of Kingston was asked for $16 million; and the City of Vaughan was asked to contribute $80 million. The Region of York has a comparable request before them of $260 million for their hospital. "You've got a bigger project than most other municipalities," said McKendrick. "You've got a big project, you've got a big growing area, you've got more needs than other municipalities, so you're local share is going to be bigger." McKendrick also fielded a question from Ward 6 Councillor Max Khan who wondered about Oakville going through a similar hospital process that Brampton went through. Khan said that in 2001, it was estimated the Brampton Civic Hospital would cost $381 million and include 716 beds. These figures changed as the project went along, with the cost rising in 2004 to $525 million for a hospital capable of holding only 608 beds. Finally the hospital opened in 2007 with only 479 beds. Khan asked McKendrick how a similar situation could be prevented in Oakville. "You have been approved for 457 beds that has been decided by the Ministry of Health and that is what you are going to get," said McKendrick. "That's a functional program that has been approved and that is the basis through which I am advancing this project." Halton Healthcare President and CEO John Oliver could not say exactly how many beds the new Oakville hospital would open with, but said it would be more than the 320 beds currently available at OTMH. Staffing and equipment would be phased -- raising the total of available beds to 457 over the course of three years after opening. Halton Healthcare Services has reported that the hospital's capacity is expected to move to 600 beds by 2018/2019. Business manager of the Local 793 International Union of Operating Engineers Mike Gallagher also spoke during Wednesday's meeting. He attempted to ease some of council's concerns about the project. "The building trades, which I am up here representing, are the ones that are going to build the hospital, hopefully, in whatever design you decide it should be built in. We would like to say that we're prepared to sit down and entertain negotiating a project agreement for this particular job," said Gallagher. "What that means is we will remove some of the risk going forward in terms of negotiation cycles. If we reach a project agreement there will be no work stoppage during the term of the project." Gallagher said he supported the project stating it would create around 2,000 construction jobs. Renovate · Decorate · Celebrate Time is Precious, Mistakes are Costly and Decorating is complicated. Inquire about your Personal Design Consultation At Fitz by Design we are committed to creating breathtaking, functional spaces that are unique as the individuals living in them.