Finishing touches: final checklist underway for new North Bay hospital.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: NORTH BAY

Contractors are putting the finishing touches this fall on the biggest construction project in North Bay history.

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When the $345-million North Bay Regional Health Centre officially opens its doors January 30, it will mark the completion of the first hospital in Ontario constructed under the Alternative Financing and Procurement process.

Built by the consortium of Plenary Health and PCL Contractors, North Bay has written the playbook for this relatively new method of public-private delivery method of hospital infrastructure.

There were challenges as with any major construction project, said Dave Smits, the interim vice-president of faculty services and transitional planning, but "we came out of it quite well. We managed to deliver our goal of being on time and on budget."

The centre will also be the first Ontario hospital to incorporate both an acute care hospital and a mental health centre of a combined 388 beds.

Smits said a great deal of time has been spent working on blending the respective corporate cultures and even labour agreements of two hospitals and the Northeastern Mental Health Centre into one cohensive entity.

With the hospital reaching what's known as 'substantial completion' this past summer, the main portion of construction is done and the facility is now in the hands of hospital administrators.

While it seems much of the heavy lifting is over, there is plenty of work left in cleaning up any deficiencies identified during final inspection and getting all the complex building systems working properly

"There are a ton of small details that you need to make sure are looked after so that all of the pieces fit together," said Smits.

A small contingent of administration has already moved into the 720,000-square-foot complex in a kind of "burn-in period" to address any operational issues that could arise before clinical staff and patients move in, said Smits.

Hundreds of incoming staff were being oriented to their future workplace in September and the centre's warehouse has been steadily filling up with new diagnostic imaging equipment and furniture along with used equipment being transferred from the North Bay General Hospital properties.

"We're expecting a multitude of tractor trailers coming through," said Smits.

Excitement and anticipation in the community have been building since construction kicked off in 2007. The transition into the new Highway 17 complex will include a three-day...