A new $175 million hospital project was approved for Sault Ste. Marie in mid-December 2001. In 1999, the Health Services Restructuring Commission recommended closure of Plummer Memorial Hospital in favour of expanding Sault Ste. Marie Regional Hospital.
The two hospital boards devised their own plan that called for closing the two existing hospitals and constructing a new hospital on property owned by the F. J. Davey Home, a long-term care facility.
The two hospital boards are finalizing governance issues.
Two satellite hospitals, the Mathews Memorial Hospital on St. Joseph’s Island and the Thessalon Hospital will continue to operate after the new hospital is completed in 2007 or 2008.
An 18- to 24-month planning phase is underway for the new hospital, says Brady Irwin, Sault Ste. Marie Regional Hospital spokesman.
Sault Ste. Marie and area residents will need to raise $52.5 million for the new hospital. The city has proposed its share at $22.5 million, with $11 million coming from a tax levy, and the other portion, $11.5 million from casino revenues.
