OPG donates $2.5 million to major redevelopment of Bowmanville Hospital

‘Mission Possible’ was the theme of the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation’s Gala fundraiser earlier this month and the event got a big dose of possible with a donation of $2.5 million from Ontario Power Generation for the hospital’s redevelopment.

The ambitious expansion at the hospital will cost an estimated cost of $736 million, with $110 million expected from the community – the largest fundraising initiative in the foundation’s history.

With the region’s population expected to double by 2041, the expansion of services at the Bowmanville Hospital is urgently needed. The expansion will nearly the size of the hospital and will include new ambulatory care clinics, a Haemodialysis Centre, a new Nephrology department, modern, patient-centred facilities including private and bariatric rooms, a new emergency department and a rooftop helipad to enable rapid access to emergency services and Level 3 Critical Care capacity, the highest level of care provided in hospitals for critically ill or injured patients.

The fundraising campaign, dubbed ‘We Care We Can,’ was launched in 2019.

Ontario Power Generation has a “deep commitment” to fostering healthy, thriving communities, said Steve Gregoris, OPG’s Chief Nuclear Officer. “Through our Power for Change Project, which supports this donation, OPG gives back to the communities in which we operate. Our partnership with the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation is an investment in the health and future of Clarington and the surrounding area, to help create a healthcare environment that will serve this region for generations.”

The campaign, the largest fundraising initiative in the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation’s history, was launched in 2019.

The Mission Possible Gala celebrated local support and raised funds for the hospital’s expansion project and Bowmanville Hospital Foundation CEO Maria Petri said the OPG donation will “significantly advance” the campaign’s community fundraising goal.

“We are deeply grateful to Ontario Power Generation for their outstanding generosity and shared vision for the future of healthcare in Clarington. This incredible $2.5 million donation brings us closer to realizing a state-of-the-art hospital that will meet the needs of our growing community. With continued support, we are turning our dream of expanded and advanced healthcare facilities into a reality.”

Other major sponsors at the gala include Kemp Travel Group, Cowan Buick GMC, Kaitlin Corporation and Phoenix A.M.D International.

The campaign had raised $2.7 million in the fiscal year ending last April (plus another $1 million-plus from investment income) including a $1 million donation from the Vanhaverbake family and a $250,000 pledge from Delpark Homes.

Fundraising received a major boost in 2023 when the late Harry Locke, a former Bowmanville businessman and longtime standardbred racehorse owner, gifted the hospital foundation $3.8 million – the largest planned private donation in the foundation’s history.

Clarington has gifted the hospital $7.5 million to date and the region, which included a dedicated levy of nearly $2 million in the 2022 budget, chipped in with more than $37 million in 2021. That year the Province – which gave a green light to the project in the 2019 budget – threw in another $2.5 million for planning.

Queen’s Park expedited the expansion three years ago by moving the project to Stage 2 in the planning process, which puts shovels in the ground by the fall 2025.

The official tender to find a team to lead the project, which will nearly double the size of the hospital, was issued in August. The Request for Proposal process, which should be complete by early 2025, will help identify project teams that have the necessary design expertise, along with the construction and financial capacity to undertake a project of this magnitude.

For more information on the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation’s fundraising campaign, visit their website at www.WeCareWeCan.ca.