New hospital to be built in Watson Lake
26.09.2008 23:01
Health
- Source: cbc.ca
Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie says his government is going to build a new hospital in Watson Lake, scrapping its original plans to renovate the existing facility. Until only a few months ago, the existing hospital was going to be renovated after crews finished building an adjacent multi-care facility. But Fentie, the Yukon Party MLA for Watson Lake, said the government instead wants contractors to convert the partially completed multi-care facility into a brand new hospital. "The original concept of a facility for seniors, attached to the hospital to provide multi-level care, simply will not work because of the condition of the existing hospital," Fentie said Thursday. "Now we're going to convert that structure into the new hospital in Watson Lake. We are going to build an assisted-living facility for seniors, which is in progress now, and we're going to add housing for doctors." Fentie said engineers had determined that renovating the old building would simply be too expensive. At the same time, turning the multi-care facility into a hospital won't come cheaply, either. "Well, the estimate is around $25 million," he said. "But I want to emphasize, that's an estimate." 'Boondoggle from Day 1,' Liberal leader chargesThe territorial government is accepting construction proposals on the new plan until the end of this month. Opposition leaders have criticized the Watson Lake hospital project, since the initial construction contract was sole-sourced to a Yukon party supporter in Watson Lake. "This has been a boondoggle from Day 1," said Liberal Opposition Leader Arthur Mitchell. "Taxpayers should be outraged, not at the provision of good health care but at how ridiculously expensive it's become." Fentie said the government has spent only $3 million on the project so far, but NDP Leader Todd Hardy said he believes it's about triple that. "He's already spent $11 million or $12 million down there, and they don't even have the project complete. And he's starting on another one," Hardy said. Both Hardy and Mitchell said they predict the project will cost more than $40 million before it's completed. Story Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKHealth HeadlinesCanada's fertility rate at 10-year high: StatsCanCanada's fertility rate reached a 10-year high in 2006, when women aged 30 to 34 had more babies than women aged 25 to 29 for the first time, Statistics Canada said Friday.Website reports cases of C. difficile in Ont. hospitals Ontario hospitals had 319 cases of C. difficile last month, the province's first hospital-generated report on the infections showed Friday.Adding mirror to stroke therapy speeds recovery: studyPeople who have a stroke seem to recover faster when they use a mirror to create the illusion that their paralyzed limb is moving alongside a healthy one, a Japanese researcher said Friday.Coffee products, baby cereals pulled in U.S., Hong Kong for melamine fearsU.S. and Hong Kong health authorities issued recalls Friday for more products, including coffee and baby crackers, because they may be contaminated with the industrial compound melamine.World leaders pledge nearly $3B to eradicate malariaWorld leaders and the heads of philanthropic organizations gathered at the United Nations Thursday to pledge nearly $3 billion US to fight malaria in a plan that aims to eradicate the disease by 2015. Health FeaturesHEALTHMultiple sclerosisHigh rates in Canada and around the worldIN DEPTHSafetyText messaging becomes a road hazardHEALTHPain pillsPros and cons of three popular pain relieversHEALTHExerciseFitness boot camps: Cross-training pulls in recruitsMEDICAL RESEARCHBrain banksCrucial for research, clamouring for donorsHEALTH & FITNESSPeter HadzipetrosZorba the obesePeople who read this also read …
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