Oct. 1, 2007/- Kingston City Council has voted to include a request for support for the redevelopment of our hospitals in its budget deliberations. The request, made by the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, the fundraising arm of Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston General Hospital and Providence Care, was made during a presentation to Kingston City Council October 2nd.

The Foundation asked the City of Kingston to pledge $10 million toward
the redevelopment of facilities at Kingston hospitals. In addition, it also requested a grant in the amount of 50% of the new development and impost fees to be realized by the City as a result of our construction projects. The estimated grant would be a minimum of $6 million. The request was based on a “fair share” formula that includes patient usage and economic impact. The Foundation will be asking all local governments in areas served by our hospitals for support.

“We need the hospital community to help us convince the City and other local governments to support the redevelopment of our hospitals,” said Roger Wright, Chair of the Foundation.

The province will pay 90 per cent of eligible construction costs of redevelopment. The community must pay 10 per cent plus the cost of most of the equipment. The likely cost of the community portion or “local share” will be more than $50 million. Without our “local share” in place the hospitals risk these projects being delayed indefinitely.

Regional municipalities in places like Sudbury, Windsor and Sarnia have contributed to their hospital campaigns in the range of $20 to $30 million.

Foundation Chair Roger Wright

speaks to Kingston City Council