NBGH Chief of Staff Dr. Joseph Madden thanks Kiwanis members for their dedication to the hospital project. It is not too late to register for the Kiwanis & Friends Scramble & Ramble Tuesday August 28th.
NBGH Chief of Staff Dr. Joseph Madden thanks Kiwanis members for their dedication to the hospital project.
It is not too late to register for the Kiwanis & Friends Scramble & Ramble Tuesday August 28th.
The golf event is in support of both the Nipissing and North Bay clubs’ $750,000 financial commitment to the new North Bay Regional Health Centre Project.
Plenary Health, the consortium that is financing and building the hospital, has come on board as title sponsor.
“We’re delighted that we are actually going to be able to help this community deliver the vision that they have been working on now for 25 years,” says Chief executive officer of Plenary Health Mike Morasco who was recently in town for the event kick off.
“For us it is a beginning of a new relationship that will last for a generation or more, because we will be here for 30 years.”
Morasco says that not only will his company contribute to the community by sponsoring the golf event, but they anticipate major economic contributions as the project moves forward.
“Initially during the construction period it’s going to be a tremendous amount of money pumped into the community through salaries and wages. We will have between 200 and 250 workers on the site at any one time and over the period of construction that will generate about 150-million dollars in direct salaries and wages,” he says.
“In addition to that we will also be buying concrete and services and supplies from local suppliers, we estimate that that will be around 70-million. And then of course over the 30-year period we’ve got to maintain the building, we’ve got to have staff to operate it, and that will generate of course other ongoing economic advantages to the community.”
To his critics Morasco says they have their facts wrong when it comes to the notion that North Bay’s project is in private hands.
“First of all to make a correction, it is in public hands from day one. The way we structure these agreements, all we have is the license to perform our obligations over the thirty year period so that’s that.”
“I guess what I would say to my critics is that the results speak for themselves. This community desperately needs a new hospital, you’ve got increased emergency business, increased clinic requirements and we will actually deliver the thing. We’ll deliver it on time, we’ll deliver it on budget and it will be done more importantly, I guess not just for the initial delivery, but for what it begins for the community since the day it opens.”
Morasco also says the company has no intention of deserting the project and that they will be here from the day it opens through the 30-year period.
“I think the challenge, when I was on the public sector side, people like to make announcements about how much the capitol side of the project is, but they often don’t think about what the cost is going to operate.”
“Traditionally we would say the building cost 400-million or 450-million and that’s what people want to know, so that’s what the expectation levels are. So when you actually look at what it’s going to cost to operate the facility over that period the numbers are bigger and they appear bigger, but I also think that to the tax payers it’s important that that information be made available and disclosed to them,” he adds.
The tournament has an 11:00 am shotgun start, to book your team call Terry at Casey’s 476-3373 or Patti at Dundee Wealth Management 495-6645 ext. 222.
