Groundbreaking marks start of new Humber River Regional Hospital.
Politicians and guests gather to break ground for the new Humber River Regional Hospital Friday, Dec. 2.
Staff photo/DAN PEARCE
Construction of the $1.75-billion Humber River Regional Hospital, which will become North America's first fully digital hospital, has officially begun.
Dozens of dignitaries and guests packed into a tent Friday, Dec. 2 for a groundbreaking ceremony for the hospital at Keele Street and Hwy. 401.
"For years, we've looked towards this day and this gathering of friends, in expectation of the excitement it would bring," said hospital president Dr. Rueben Devlin, calling the event a significant moment in Humber River's history.
"Ours is a story rich in character - a story of dedication, of foresight, of caring and compassion."
Through challenges and turns during 12 years of planning, there have been many people dedicated to seeing the project succeed, Devlin said.
"Throughout the years our vision remained constant and the dream unwavering, to bring the finest hospital facility Ontario has ever seen to northwest Toronto," he said.
"We've actually expanded our horizons somewhat as time passed. Being the finest in Ontario somehow didn't seem enough. North America's first fully digital hospital: that is a more suitable description for the new Humber River Regional Hospital."
The hospital will contain a number of innovations including smart bed technology, which will constantly monitor patients' temperature, blood pressure and heart rate; robotic technology for certain surgical procedures; automated laboratory processing that returns results immediately to handheld devices; and bedside computer screens that allow patients to select their meals from the online, restaurant-style menu and adjust the temperature or lighting in their rooms.
"This approach to patient accommodation reflects the latest thinking in new hospital design," Devlin said.
"Our push to a digital hospital is not technology for technology's sake. It's about using the latest tools to enable your care providers to have more time at your bedside, with you and your family, putting the patient at the centre of the entire experience to revolutionize the delivery of health care."
Board of directors chair James O'Sullivan said the groundbreaking was an opportunity to recognize the contributions of the past and to look forward to the promise of the future.
"For too long hampered by inadequate, overcrowded facilities, our great hospital team will soon have a proper facility in which to treat patients," he said.
"A facility designed and built with the care and comfort of patients as the fundamental design principle."
The hospital will be designed for the latest in technology and will allow staff to provide high quality care, O'Sullivan said.
"As well, today's groundbreaking is about community. Our community. This great new building will be their hospital, a welcoming place, a compassionate place, their place not just for care, but also to embrace as a living part of their neighbourhood," he said.
"Here they will get state-of-the-art, expert care."
The hospital will be part of a campus where the residents will be welcomed, O'Sullivan said.
"They can meet up with friends for a walk through the gardens, or ride their bikes along the pathways. They can come for coffee in the courtyard or for community events in the piazza," he said.
"This will be more than a great hospital. It will be the focal point for renewing the neighbourhood."