santé québec acquires $30m site for maisonneuve-rosemont hospital expansion
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quebec premier christine fréchette, health minister sonia bélanger and jean-françois fortin-verreault, head of the ciuss de l'est de l'ile de montreal, toured maisonneuve-rosemont hospital in april.
john mahoney
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montreal gazette
after years of criticism over delays, santé québec has spent $30 million to acquire the land needed to expand the crumbling maisonneuve-rosemont hospital in montreal's east end, it announced friday, but the hospital's foundation will pay that back to the provincial government.hospital staff have long pleaded for the government to expand and modernize the aging facility, which has struggled with personnel cuts, loss of vehicles and broken equipment.“with the acquisition of this land, the future of health care in eastern montreal is becoming even more concrete. this is an essential step toward the realization of the new maisonneuve-rosemont hospital," geneviève biron, president and ceo of santé québec, said in a statement friday.the first phase of upgrades to the hospital began last year as its deteriorating condition drew headlines, and staff and patient advocates accused the government of making announcements without following through. mélissa bellemare, who sits on the hospital’s users’ committee, said at the time: “we are skeptical until we see the shovel in the ground.”plans called for a major expansion of the facility, including 720 single-bed rooms, the relocation of infrastructure and a new main pavilion linked to the existing complex.quebec premier christine fréchette called the announcement "excellent news" for montreal's east end and quebec's health-care system in a post on x.
the health authority said the maisonneuve-rosemont hospital foundation has pledged to donate $30 million to santé québec, matching the value of the land transaction, to support the hospital’s expansion and modernization project.however, santé québec maintained the hospital is not being forced to finance its own expansion."rather, it is a philanthropic contribution from the foundation, made possible through the generosity of its donors, to support the delivery of a major project for the institution and the community it serves," a spokesperson for the province's health-care agency said in an email to the gazette.money raised by hospital foundations can be used to fund a wide range of projects, santé québec said. "in this case, the foundation has chosen to dedicate a donation to the maisonneuve-rosemont hospital expansion and modernization project. this is not a donation to the government for general purposes, but rather a contribution specifically earmarked for this hospital project."the announcement came hours before parti québécois leader paul st-pierre plamondon held a news conference in front of the maisonneuve-rosemont hospital to announce his promise to abolish santé québec.asked about the $30-million donation from the foundation, the pq leader said he doesn’t think contributing to the expansion is their role.“i don’t think it’s their mission," st-pierre plamondon said.he wouldn’t commit further on the donation without speaking to the foundation first, but told reporters “this hospital is going to happen” under a pq government.
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