“Children breaking ground for children”

Construction is starting, and The Montreal Children’s Hospital will soon be one of the most modern pediatric institutions in North America

PRESS RELEASE

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Montreal, Tuesday, September 7, 2010 – The construction of the future Montreal Children’s Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre was set in motion today during a ceremony held in the presence of Minister of Health and Social Services Dr. Yves Bolduc, and the patron of the event, Mrs. Michèle Dionne. Surrounded by 106 children whose presence symbolized the 106 years of the current Hospital’s existence, they raised a symbolic shovelful of earth to underline the start of the construction of what will be, by 2014, one of the most modern pediatric institutions in North America.

 

The future Montreal Children’s Hospital, also referred to as “The Children’s”, will have 154 beds to receive young patients from all over Quebec. Each room will be single-patient, with the goal of aiding the healing process by controlling the spread of infections, and enabling family members to be present. Our new facilities will better accommodate new technologies and equipment, allowing for faster diagnosis, less invasive treatments, and subsequently, shorter recuperation time for patients.

 

The new Montreal Children’s Hospital will be part of the new McGill University Health Centre, which will bring together on one site the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Montreal Chest Institute, a Cancer Centre and the Research Institute of the MUHC. This important modernization of the McGill University Health Centre facilities, which represents a global investment of 1.343 billion dollars, will be carried out as a public-private partnership with Groupe immobilier de santé McGill, a collaboration between SNC-Lavalin Inc. and Innisfree Ltd.

 

A key partner, The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation is making a substantial contribution to the project by raising 100 million dollars through The Best Care for Children Campaign, chaired by Marc A. Courtois. To date, more than 74 million dollars have been raised. Many donors were therefore present at the “Children breaking ground for children” ceremony held today.

 

Dr. Nicolas Steinmetz, who initiated the project of the new hospital several years ago, while he was the head of The Montreal Children’s Hospital, and who today chairs the board of The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, underlined that the new Montreal Children’s Hospital will be a model for other teaching and research hospitals and will offer our young patients a remarkable healing environment. For Louise Dery-Goldberg, President of the Foundation, the construction of the new Montreal Children’s Hospital will touch all those who have children’s health at heart.

 

About the Hospital and its Foundation:

The Montreal Children’s Hospital is a tertiary care pediatric teaching hospital affiliated with McGill University. It is also the only pediatric facility serving the McGill Réseau Universitaire Intégré Santé (RUIS). Over the years, the hospital has become known for its wealth of expertise in various fields, particularly cardiology and cardiac surgery, trauma care, neurology and neurosurgery, developmental pediatrics and mental health.

 

The mission of The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation is to support excellence in care at The Montreal Children’s Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre. This objective is attained by contributing to the advancement of teaching and research, and by purchasing cutting-edge medical equipment. 

SOURCE:

Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation

MEDIA RELATIONS:

Julie Gagnon