This article was first published by TimminsToday, a Village Media publication.
MOOSONEE — With the federal government reaffirming its commitment to a new hospital on the James Bay coast, and the province adding extra cash, Dr. Elaine Innes is optimistic about what lies ahead.
The Weeneebayko General Hospital chief of staff was one of the people taking part in a provincial announcement Monday in Moosonee. It reaffirmed that the federal government is providing $1.24 billion to redevelop the hospital in a remote area of Northern Ontario.
For Ontario's part, Minister of Health Sylvia Jones announced $44 million for the design and early works construction. It's in addition to the $1.36 billion the province has already committed to the project.
“The redevelopment of the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority is critical to ensuring those living in the Western James Bay and Hudson Bay Coast areas can access care and we are doing everything we can to keep this project on track," said Jones in a news release.
Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu also made a funding announcement Monday about WAHA. It was held in Ottawa, with no live stream or option for people to participate who aren't in Ottawa, which is nearly 800 kilometres from Moosonee. The notice says Hajdu was joined by Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse.
While the anticipated $3-billion project has been in the works for over 15 years and construction has started, funding was not included in this year's federal budget.
When leaders in the area couldn't get answers about the cash, a public advocacy campaign started in hopes of having the federal government keep its commitment.
At the Moosonee announcement, WAHA president and CEO Lynne Innes said late Friday she received a letter from Hajdu reaffirming that the federal government would provide its full share of the project cost.
The current hospital was built as an "Indian hospital" for tuberculosis in 1950 — 74 years ago — on Moose Factory Island, which is across the Moose River from Moosonee, in a remote area of Northern Ontario.
It serves over 12,000 people from Omushkego communities from Moose Factory in the south to Peawanuck in the north.
Construction of the new hospital started in January 2023, with a groundbreaking ceremony on the site.
The designs for the new hospital include 36 in-patient beds in private rooms, a surgical suite, a 32-bed elder care lodge, and up-to-date primary care, dialysis facilities and housing for staff. Thirty staff units have already been built.
Moving the hospital to Moosonee on the mainland puts it closer to the airport, where patients being flown in from communities along the James Bay coast land.
Right now, when patients land in Moosonee, they are transferred to the Moose Factory by ice road, barge, or helicopter.
The current facility is the oldest non-renovated hospital in Canada.
Long-term care patients are living in the main hospital because there’s no facility in the region.
Patients needing services such as obstetrics have to travel far from home to receive care.
It still has the original boiler, and the roof is a concern.
The building has crumbling concrete, and water damage throughout the halls. There is no elevator, and the ramps to transport patients are too steep for current safety standards, Elaine Innes previously told TimminsToday.
