Jewish General Hospital’s new $429-million pavilion opens

Health Minister Gaétan Barrette cuts the ribbon at the inauguration of the Jewish General Hospital’s Pavilion K. With him, from left, are Pierre Arcand, Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, Allan Rubin and Georges Bendavid, director of technical services. JANICE ARNOLD PHOTO
Health Minister Gaétan Barrette cuts the ribbon at the inauguration of the Jewish General Hospital’s Pavilion K. With him, from left, are Pierre Arcand, Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, Allan Rubin and Georges Bendavid, director of technical services JANICE ARNOLD PHOTO

MONTREAL – The Jewish General Hospital’s (JGH) new $429-million wing has finally fully opened almost six years after its construction was first announced.

The 10-storey Pavilion K, with its main entrance on Légaré Street, admitted its first patients on Jan. 24, although the project’s first phase, an emergency department, much larger and more modern than the previous one, has been in operation since February 2014.

Health Minister Gaétan Barrette, as well as Natural Resources Minister Pierre Arcand, MNA for the area riding of Mont Royal, were on hand for the official ribbon-cutting in the pavilion’s cavernous Agora concourse on Jan. 18.

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Barrette praised the JGH for completing the project on budget, and for the excellence of its patient care. The expansion of the JGH will benefit not only Montrealers, but all of Quebec, he said, providing more efficient and safer care.

The opening followed many months of preparation to familiarize staff with their new work environment and to ensure the smooth transfer of patients.

While the government paid for the building, the Jewish General Hospital Foundation is responsible for the underground garage and all equipment and furnishings inside the edifice, for which fundraising continues.

The new pavilion focuses on acute care, housing the intensive care, cardiovascular care and neonatal intensive care units, as well as the birthing centre and operating rooms.

All patient rooms are private.

In total, 18 departments are being moved into the tower, where approximately 60 per cent of the JGH’s clinical activities will soon be performed. The JGH’s total number of beds – 637 – remains the same.

Later, the cafeteria will be relocated and revamped with five kiosks offering different foods. The pavilion is connected internally to the rest of the hospital via the Agora, into which the neighbouring former Herzl clinic building has been integrated.

In addition to the latest equipment and technology, the pavilion has a pneumatic system that whisks dirty laundry and garbage away, freeing workers for more patient-centred tasks. There are also such amenities as a lounge for visitors.

One of the pavilion’s most striking features is the natural light through large windows that afford spectacular views on the upper floors.

Alan Maislin, who since October has been the minister-appointed chair of the board of directors of the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network for West-Central Montreal, one of the new health agencies known by the acronym CIUSSS, said the pavilion was conceived at least 10 years ago.

The agency’s CEO, Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, called it “the most ambitious and complicated” expansion in the JGH’s 82-year history due to its design and innovation.

First announced in June 2010, the project’s completion target date at that time for the ER was 2012.

The go-ahead for the main part of the pavilion, the largest ever expansion of patient-care facilities, was approved by the government in October 2011. At the time, the pavilion was expected to open at the end of 2014.

Then D’Arcy McGee MNA Lawrence Bergman was credited with persuading his government to move ahead with the project. Bergman, who was present for the opening ceremony, was applauded for his role in realizing the pavilion.

The project’s progress was delayed when Barrette put construction on hold in 2014 while the JGH got its finances under control. At the time, it was running a more than $14-million deficit.

That year the JGH also become the subject of an investigation by the province’s anti-corruption squad, UPAC, for construction cost overruns related to the expansion. The JGH co-operated fully with the inquiry, which was narrowed to specific hospital suppliers and contractors.

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The JGH has maintained that its ballooning deficit was due to the high demand for its services, especially cancer care, which was exceeding its government funding year after year.

At the inauguration, Barrette made a commitment that government funding will keep pace with the demand for services provided at the new facility.

The pavilion “can run at full capacity,” he said. “I can say without hesitation that we will fund it correctly.”

D’Arcy McGee MNA David Birnbaum, who could not be present, echoed that in a letter sent to Rosenberg and Allan Rubin, JGH board of governors president. “[Barrette] will surely reiterate his continued support and admiration for the cutting-edge medical leadership that the hospital has always demonstrated. Surely, Pavilion K will be another manifestation of that leadership, as it adds to the full range of quality patient services offered by the Montreal Centre-West CIUSSS.”