Weeneebayko Area Health Authority's (WAHA) hospital redevelopment project is currently in the preliminary design stage.
The project, which is now in Stage 3, includes building a new hospital in Moosonee and a new health centre on Moose Factory Island. WAHA received a total of $21.9 million from the province for the five-stage project.
“It’s going to be a three-year build and then we hope to have the shovel in the ground next year,” said Lynne Innes, president and chief executive officer of WAHA.
The new state-of-the-art hospital will be located on Percy’s Way in Moosonee and will be adjacent to the Moosonee Health Centre. The land for the new facility was donated by the Town of Moosonee.
In addition to the existing services offered by the current hospital, the new site will also provide pediatrics and specialty services. WAHA plans to have 75 acute beds and 30 long-term care beds at the new facility.
The current hospital in Moose Factory will be decommissioned and a new acute care health centre, offering 24/7 emergency care, will be built on the same site.
As the current hospital is 70 years old, the new facility is “long overdue,” Innes said.
“We’ll be able to provide equitable access to healthcare as close to home as possible,” she said.
The project has been in the works for two decades, having moved from Stage 1 to Stage 3 in the last two years, according to Innes.
“We’re very progressive and moving along as planned,” she said. “Happy to be able to work on this project to bring care closer to the home for everybody in the James and Hudson Bay region.”
