Community gets virtual glimpse at County’s new hospital

By Sharon Harrison

The County’s new build will be the first all mass timber acute care hospital in North America, and architect Jason-Emery Groen was excited to tell the community about the unique project, and its many special features. The update also spoke to construction activities and highlighted key milestones of the $153.8 million project.

“Ultimately, it’s climate-resiliency proofed and that means we are not designing the building for today, we are designing for future climates,” said Groen. The new hospital will also be net-zero carbon-ready.

An informative update on the new hospital build was provided by the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation (PECMHF) and Quinte Health in a virtual community event this week – the first update of many expected to be shared with the community as the build progresses.

Led by Stacey Daub, Quinte Health president and CEO, the update covered a lot of ground, including updates from Groen who is senior vice-president and design director with HDR Architecture, Shannon Coull, the PECMHF executive director, and Trevor Stewart, the new director of re-development with Quinte Health.

A question session followed, led by Catherine Walker, Quinte Health communications manager, where people asked how the timber will wear over time, if it is a fire hazard, and if there are infection control concerns using wood materials.

Around 80 people tuned in to hear the news of progress, which focused on sustainability elements for the new 23 in-patient bed hospital (with the ability to surge up).

“The new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital is going to be more than just a health care facility. It’s going to be a beacon of what’s possible when you think about innovation meeting commitment,” said Daub. “It’s going to be the first mass timber hospital in North America, and that’s been highlighted in the media all the way across the world in Australia, which is pretty incredible. This mass timber build is going to set a new standard for the way people think about sustainable health care infrastructure.”

Trevor Stewart, Director of Redevelopment and Facilities, joined the call directly from the building site, and provided a short tour of the site from his vantage point, highlighting various things, such as the new elevator shaft. “We are really excited to bring this… seeing the building come out of the ground and getting the timber in place, and getting this finished.”

Colleague Ian Stone, PECMH Project Lead, provided an update on construction progress, going over what’s happened since the design phase of the project began in 2022 to present day, including when the tender was announced last July, and since construction began.

He also showed a short sped-up video showing the progress at the site from what it looked like before construction began, to present day, with construction underway. It showed the site being cleared, the excavation, and a new west entrance completed, where he said geo-thermal drilling has started, along with building foundations.

“Coming up later this year, a bit of excitement, you’ll see the mass timber start to be erected on-site, and this will be a massive change to the site and it will be quite exciting. The other thing you’ll see is a new helipad get built on the north side of the property, which will be quite exciting.”

Groen noted how hospitals have never been fully built of mass timber, often only parts of them, as they are usually made of concrete and steel, materials he said that take an incredible amount of energy to produce.

Along with the uniqueness of the mass timber, he said there is a lot more to the building as it will incorporate solar panels and areas of green roofs. While the solar panels cannot generate all the energy the building needs (the building does require thermal energy), he said it will help mitigate the total energy load.

“The areas of green roofs will help reduce the amount of water that drops right into the drainage system right away, and it acts to be able to attract pollinators and other elements within the environment.”

Jason Emery Groen

Groen refers to the geo-thermal energy as “magic” as he outlined that wells are being drilled on site right now and “will be able to provide significantly more energy that they actually consume to be able to operate, so literally magic. For one unit of energy, we expect three to four units of heat or cooling and process load for the building itself which is pretty incredible, and that’s why I call it magic.”

The new hospital will be net-zero carbon-ready, where Groen explained that means the building is actually a high-energy building that uses renewable energy, or has a supply of energy that would be de-carbonized in the future.

“Fancy words for, we hope that the electrical grid will continue to become more and more green in the future. And because this building will be predominantly electric, it will allow for that to happen better in the future, with less fossil fuels used in the building.”

And for those who asked for operable windows, there will be operable windows. “You would think that’s obvious, but it’s not all that common in current hospitals.”

Also highlighted was the fact that Sullivan and Son, the firm successful in winning the contract, has committed to using and hiring local trades and businesses, where Daub noted that some also live in the County, including Sullivan’s lead carpenter, project administrator and quality manager. Sub-contractors include include Drew Harrison Haulage, Otter Energy, Picton Home Hardware, Southside Sanitary Solutions and Wentworth Landscapes.

With local contractors, from left, are: Juan Arboleda, Project Coordinator, M. Sullivan & Son Ltd.; Andre Roy, Director of Pursuit, M. Sullivan & Son Ltd.; Alex McKinnon, Construction Manager, Otter Energy; Darci McCulloch, Owner, South Side Sanitary – Portable Toilet Rentals; Adam Busscher, Owner, Picton Home Hardware; Drew Harrison, President, Drew Harrison Haulage Ltd.; Jamie Miller, Owner, South Side Sanitary – Portable Toilet Rentals; Scott Wentworth, President, Wentworth Landscapes; Tyler Blower, President, Otter Energy; Geoff McDonald, Project Manager, M. Sullivan & Son Ltd. – Shannon Coull photo

“This shows you that the people in our community are not only supporting the build of this hospital in terms of financial donations, but there are actually people who are in our County building our actual hospital so that is pretty amazing,” expressed Daub.

Addressing several questions relating to the wood material being used, Daub asked how the mass timber on the exterior will stand-up to the extremities (rain, snow) and how it will wear over time. Groen said there is only a small amount of timber on the outside of the building (front canopy by the entrance) and it will be coated, so it won’t be raw to the elements.

“We also tried to make sure that any of that little bit of wood that we use outside is covered, it is under that canopy. Although the beacon (the main hall at the entrance) appears like it’s outside, in reality, it’s all inside behind the glass,” said Groen.

He also explained why there is no greater fire hazard with the timber build.

“Mass timber is over-sized material that has a char layer. All elements of the building have a char layer built into them so that they could burn for an extended period and the building would still stay up. There are a lot of protective elements within it, just to be clear, it is not the same wood that is used in a house, it is not a two by four.”

Also related to the wood construction was concern regarding infection control. Groen said there are infection control concerns with any material used and used the analogy of cutting boards (wood versus plastic), noting how wood wicks away moisture, whereas plastic or other materials can harbour moisture, causing bacteria to grow.

“We will be sealing all of the wood regardless, and we are making sure all of the columns are lifted off the floor, so there is no mopping near the bottom of a column, all that will be lifted off the floor with a steel component to make sure that is clean.”

Birds potentially flying into the windows was a concern raised and Groen responded that a ‘frit’ or a type of a pattern will be used on the glass to allow the birds to it, something he said is hard for people to see, but the birds can see it clearly.

Stacey Daub CEO Quinte Health

Responding to an enquiry of whether the new hospital would house a walk-in clinic to keep the emergency department from being overused, Daub said there would not be, because, hopefully there would be no need.

“Given the work that has been undertaken to recruit family physicians into the County, I am really hopeful that we are going to build a vibrant community of the next generation of family doctors in the County who are not only going to want to serve the community, but also support the hospital,” she said. “And with that, you are going to cut down on the need for people to actually have to use walk-in clinics or use the emergency department.”

Another asked what the major risks associated with the new hospital project were, to which Stewart responded by indicating all risks are monitored, describing briefly typical risks on their radar seen with any project are environmental (delays due to wet weather, snow, ice and rain), for which they have a risk mitigation strategy.

“There is geo-political risk, and obviously we are monitoring as well the recent developments of tariffs and how that might impact the project, and we always have a mitigation strategy for those,” said Stewart. “And labourers too, and for all of these projects, we have a dedicated workforce, but there is always risk people will leave, but there is a replacement strategy so we always have back-up people, resources and trades.

Things that come up at our meetings are: ‘What’s at risk now?’ and ‘How do we catch-up on the delay to the project?’ , and if it has any impact on the overall schedule or the budget or if there is change of scope.”

Describing how the building will look, Groen said they wanted to create a space that looks like it’s always been part of the County. “We wanted to make a building that felt like it’s always been here.” He said, the hope is the place will feel like no other hospital. “We really want it to naturally promote health, we want it to be as simple as possible, we want it to just feel right.”

He said, this isn’t just a building.

“It is the people in the building that matter, and it is the patients that it’s providing the care for that really count, so if a building can simply perform, perhaps impress, and maybe just be subtle in the background, we hope that the care will be provided in its best way possible.”

A landscaping update is to come in April, but Daub did share that 90 per cent of trees and plants will be native or native adjacent cultivars chosen specifically for the conditions of the County. “The landscaping is going to be spectacular and beautiful and inviting,” she said.

Further community updates, each with a different focus, are to happen twice a year for the duration of the project. The next virtual update expected in September is to focus on the people who deliver care for the community (physicians, nurses, support staff, clinical staff, etc.), as well as patients. However, monthly updates are to be posted on the website, social media, etc.

Shannon Coull noted how the hospital foundation wouldn’t be here today without the support from the community, and community supporters, including individuals, businesses, industries, service organizations, social clubs, faith-based organizations and many others.

“It is our donors who are making this vision for our new hospital a reality,” she said, reporting that just over $24 million has been raised toward the $30 million goal for the Back the Build campaign.

The funds raised will cover 10 per cent of the cost of the bricks and mortar component of the hospital build, plus the equipment. The other 90 per cent of the hard construction costs will be covered by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC).

“We are getting close and we have a couple more years to reach our goal, and I have no doubt we are going to achieve that.”

The ground-breaking is expected for 2027.

Further information on the new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital project build can be found at pecmhf.ca, where there are also options to donate.

Watch the virtual community update from Feb. 25: