It’s a question everyone is asking, but the process of site selection hasn’t even started yet.
What we do know is that the process for determining a location for a new hospital will be open and transparent. A committee made up of representatives from both the city (including the City Planner) and the county will oversee the process. Members will consider a number of factors including, but not limited to the following:
- Location in relation to community needs.
- Size of location (50 – 60 acres is required for the project)
- Site configuration to accommodate things like parking and expansions
- Accessibility by car, public transit, ambulance, service vehicles, emergency vehicles
- Accessibility during disaster response
- Official Plan and zoning issues
- Existing use
- Availability of municipal services
- Cost of land and likelihood of purchasing or expropriating within time frame
Once the full list of criteria is determined, the request will be put to market. Those with property matching the criteria will have an opportunity to offer it for consideration. The committee will then choose the most appropriate location, based on the criteria and in the options it is presented with.
In addition, funding for the future use of both the Met and Ouellette campuses is included in the budget for this project. There will also be an alternative funded to ensure neighbourhoods with existing hospital facilities are not left behind in the process.
Windsor Regional Hospital 
Who will sit on the committee and how the committee will be chosen has yet to be determined. That is something that will be determined in the Stage 1B process which will be overseen by a steering committee. That committee has reps from the city, county, community agencies, primary care providers, hospitals and the LHIN.
The steering committee will continue to provide regular updates to elected officials in both the city and county through their direct representative’s involvement on the steering committee as well as face-to-face updates.
Who will the committee be comprised of: How are the members of the committee to be chosen: During the task force process, there did not appear to be any public consultation: As the need for this hospital, and it’s location directly affects the lives of the tax-paying residents of the City of Windsor, is it not reasonable that a good cross-section of them be given an opportunity to express their views, and be seriously considered in the whole process.
Hi Aaron,
Sorry that you do not feel you were well informed about the process involving public consultation during the task force process. Going forward we have set up this blog and a mailing list you can join to make sure you are kept updated on future opportunities.
As for the process for selecting a location, as indicated above, a committee will oversee that process. We are still in the early stages. As more information about the process becomes available we will be able to share it.
Throughout the planning process, there will be a lot to talk about and consider. Thank you for adding your voice to the discussion.
I would have to agree with Shane (and great references BTW) and others about the notifications about these public consultation. Perhaps radio, tv, etc. might help get the notifications to more of the public. Also, when these public consultations DO happen, how much weight is given to the public? Also in the report under location it indicates that transport services, location of call volume, etc. will be a consideration in selecting a location. Again how much weight are on these items? It would be nice to have some sort of guidelines available for the public to view (perhaps there is and I need to be pointed in the right direction) and see how a location is selected. Thanks for your time.
Marlene,
As part of site selection, a committee will look at a number of key factors including accessibility by car, public transit, ambulance, service vehicles and emergency vehicles. Municipal officials and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will need to review and study transportation services to any new site to ensure proper transportation routes are in place.
There have been several opportunities to provide public input already. The taskforce looking into the need for a new area hospital held public open houses in both Windsor and Essex County. You can find more information on the taskforce and its findings here:
http://www.wrh.on.ca/Site_Published/AcuteCare/Document.aspx?Body.Id=55587&LeftNav.QueryId.Categories=774
In addition, as part of the development of the Stage 1A Proposal, a team of about 150 local healthcare experts and community members met to discuss a number of key questions and look at the vision going forward.
Community consultations will play a role in the next stage of planning as well. If you sign up to our mailing list at the link below, we will make sure you are notified of future opportunities to participate in the discussion.
http://www.wrh.on.ca/Site_Published/AcuteCare/RichText.aspx?Body.QueryId.Id=55231&LeftNav.QueryId.Categories=774
Thanks
My concern is that not enough public consultation has occurred. I don’t know how WE residents were made aware of these meetings, but I think this is still news to most people! I respect the task at hand and I’m sure the committee has done everything in their power to attempt to consult with the public, however more consultation is required. I know Windsor-Essex residents will want to have a say in such an important decision. I truly hope that we will not see a repeat of what happened in Welland.
“For health-care decision-makers, public consultation seems to be a matter of explaining why they’re right and you’re wrong — rather than actually listening to what the people want and need and trying to find a way to provide it to them.”
http://www.wellandtribune.ca/2014/02/12/throwing-92000-people-under-the-bus
Once again I do respect the massive undertaking by the committee. I have great respect for those who want to improve health care in W-E. We have one chance to get this right. We cannot rush this process as such a development help will set the tone for the future of this region.
How is the LHIN & the City Planner addressing the compliance section of public input part of the LHIN legislation? Most hospitals have public transportation right to their doors (McMaster/LHS). What is Windsor Transit doing to accommodate public transit users ( with ALL disabilities) and will it be an unreasonable trip in length and transfers?
http://dcnonl.com/article/id41560
Good point Philippa! What about the Montreal Super Hospital Campus. This campus is the largest in Canada, surely larger than the new campus in Windsor and is located on a brownfield site in a dense urban part of Montreal only a few kilometres from downtown!
The site in Montreal is 43 acres however, for such a massive facility to fit on 43 acres I question why 50 – 60 acres is being used as the benchmark for a smaller facility in Windsor. If we can find a middle ground, perhaps 20 – 30 acres surely that will open up many existing sites in Windsor and we don’t have to resort to a greenfield site outside of the city.
In addition to what I wrote above, the redevelopment of Humber River Hospital in Toronto is another one to look at. They have 3000 staff serving a catchment population of 850k. Yet, the new hospital will sit on 30 acres. http://www.hrh.ca/
Philippa,
Thanks for your comments. It is important to have a site that allows for long-term regenerations and one that offers flexibility over time. We are not building a hospital just for today; we are building it for generations to come. If we do not build on property that allows for expansion, it will be a lot more money to move the entire facility down the road when it no longer meets the community needs.
Stage 1a indicated the new state of the art acute care hospital would open with the number of acute care beds currently in place at the Metropolitan and a Ouellette campus combined. In 20 years the number of beds required in this community is expected to increase by about 200. We will need room to grow.
Right now, the Met site is approximately 15 acres. It is landlocked currently with very limited parking for patients and staff park offsite. If we double the bed capacity and place on 30 acres, are we not just repeating the issues we currently face with no ability to grow?
In places like Toronto and Chicago, with such dense populations, it is impossible to find a site that offers that kind of flexibility.
I am a professional in the architectural industry specializing in healthcare facilities and development planning. Expansion can easily be handled on a site far less than 60 acres simply by building in a denser format from the beginning. Build up, not out.
Montreal’s new super hospital, soon to be the largest hospital in the country, will be situated on a 43 acre site. Surely they must not be ignoring the fact that future expansion is necessary. Will Windsor’s new hospital be 25% larger than Montreal’s hospital?
Surely the fact that Chicago could build a 1.25 million square foot hospital on 1.8 acres is far beyond the density required for a city like Windsor, but just because we CAN sprawl does not mean it is the proper thing to do. There are many sites within Windsor’s urban core that may not be 60 acres but are close. The GM transmission plant is one example. A property easily accessible from ECRow, public transit, train, etc. This just one example. Surely we don’t need to resort to the destruction of more farmland in the Windsor-Essex region to build a new facility.
I eagerly await the opportunity to participate in the site selection process.
Best Regards
Shane Mitchell.
One more reference… and just a fantastic example of a forward thinking city is Hamilton. A smaller city that has been able to maintain the downtown hospital. Their recently renovated/upgraded and expanded downtown location was maintained on it’s original urban site and the result is simply stunning! What an example for Windsor to follow!
http://www.pcl.com/Projects-that-Inspire/Pages/St-Josephs-Hospital-Redevelopment.aspx
Thank you for your reply. I agree wholeheartedly that it is crucial that the plans take future bed needs into account. However, with the hospital being one of the city’s largest employers, Windsor’s broader needs also include a number of livability factors that affect the community beyond its pure medical needs.
I am very concerned that the various parties who have been consulted to date are not experts in urban planning. Effective urban planning is needed to ensure the Windsor I am hoping to grow old in, is in fact functional for residents and appealing to those we’d like to attract to the region (including the “top talent” the hospital is already eyeing). I have difficulty seeing how the urban fabric of the city will be improved by mothballing two significant urban structures in favour of an enormous campus at some distance from the core.
By setting a 50-60 acre space “requirement” in stone, I sincerely hope the planning committee members are not assuming the only space that can be considered to be viable is outside Windsor’s urban perimeter.
I am very curious to know more about the rationale for a 50-60 acre requirement. I understand the need for future expansion possibilities, but why is building upwards instead of sideways not an option? Megacities don’t have the same luxury of space that we have in W-E, for example, this hospital in Chicago was completed in 2012 on a less than 2 acre site, and has more square footage than I believe we’re looking at for our megahospital: http://www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com/article/ann-robert-h-lurie. While this is a 23 storey structure and I doubt that this would be something we would want here, why couldn’t we settle for something inbetween?