THUNDER BAY – The bid period for the planned cardiovascular surgery expansion project at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is officially closed, confirmed a hospital spokesperson.
In an email statement to Dougall Media, the hospital said it has received bids from pre-qualified proponents and is in the “process of reviewing and completing our due diligence with the submissions, which includes awaiting the final recommendation letter from our third-party consultant.”
Once that recommendation has been made, the organization will then prepare its final cost estimates to submit to the Ministry of Health for review and approval.
“Following this submission and barring any unforeseen challenges, we anticipate receiving the ministry's formal approval to award the contract in early 2025,” the hospital said. “While a construction schedule has not yet been established, we do anticipate construction activities to commence shortly thereafter.”
The proposed project includes 14 cardiovascular surgical beds, six coronary care units, one hybrid operating room added to the hospital and an ambulatory care clinic.
The cardiovascular surgery program was first announced in 2015 and has been the subject of the Our Hearts at Home fundraising campaign.
While an estimated cost to build the project has not been made public, the campaign has so far raised more than $20 million.
