Joseph Brant Hospital to house McMaster Health Centre

February 10th, 2012 by Michelle Gatien Comment button

McMaster University, announced that they have selected Burlington’s Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital as the preferred site for the Halton McMaster Family Health Care Centre.

Mayor Rick Goldring announced the partnership between the City, the Region of Halton, Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital and McMaster University.

“This is an important announcement for Burlington, and demonstrates a partnership that is devoted to enhancing health care in our city. Creating a teaching hospital here in Burlington will raise the quality of health care for the people of Burlington and provide a great complement to the redevelopment of Joseph Brant hospital.”

Together, the City and the Region of Halton have committed $10 million dollars to McMaster University as a part of the development of the Ron Joyce Centre, which houses the DeGroote School of Business. The project included McMaster’s commitment to open a Halton McMaster Family Health Centre in downtown Burlington.

“One of the key initiatives in the Citizens’ Priorities – Halton Region’s 2011-2014 Action Plan is to attract new physicians to establish medical practices in Halton,” said Regional Chair Gary Carr. “A partnership such as this will help to bring new physicians to the Region, and give more residents access to a family doctor.”

Phase one of the project sees McMaster using two floors or approximately 15 000 square feet of the hospital. Site plans for the first phase will be submitted to the city’s planning and building department by May, followed by public consultation, a tender process and construction. Operations should be in place by the end of 2013. Phase two will go through a similar process and tendered in 2014.

“Although we are still working through our approval process, we know this location for the family health centre will be an excellent opportunity to strengthen our ties to Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital for the benefit of the hospital, the residents of Burlington and Halton and the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine,” said Dr. David Price, chair of the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University. “This centre will also serve our expanding family medicine program in the Region.”

The Province of Ontario approved the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital re-development project on August 10, 2011. The project carries a budget of over $300 million.

“We are very pleased to have the new Halton McMaster Family Health Centre on our hospital site,” said Dr. Dwight Prodger, Chief of Staff at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital. “There will be many benefits to Burlington and area residents with the HMFHC being located here including improved access to family medicine and specialist physicians and it will also help increase the hospital’s ability to recruit and retain new physicians.”

For more information about the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital redevelopment project, visit the hospital’s website at www.jbmh.com.

Tags: hospital, joseph brant