Lachine Hospital prepares for expansion project with fundraising campaign

Construction begins next week on the $223M Lachine Hospital expansion project.

The hospital will double in size by adding a new six-storey building, allowing for more single-patient rooms and new operating rooms.

For family physician, at the Lachine Hospital, Dr. Patrick Merrett, he calls this a “game changer.”

“I think the biggest thing is there’s going to be 100 per cent private rooms for all the patients,” he said. “So obviously for their comfort and their recovery, it makes a huge difference, through their infection control as well. As far as outbreaks and passing along resistant bacteria, etc., it’s going to make a huge, huge difference having family members be able to stay here with with the patients.”

The original building will also be renovated.

“It’s over 100 years old, so these improvements are more than needed, are more than welcome,” said Lachine Borough Mayor, Maja Vodanovic.

The new portion will be 18,000 square meters and built on the south side of the hospital along St-Antoine Street, facing LaSalle Park.

“The new building will host the emergency department, the new O.Rs., the MDR, which is the medical device reprocessing unit, and also all the patient rooms,” said Director of Technical Services at the MUHC, Pierre-Marc Legris,  “It’s going to be state of the art facility, something we’ve been waiting for for a while now.”

To mark the start of the project – which is expected to be fully completed by spring 2027 – the hospital is launching a fundraising campaign.

The Lachine Hospital Foundation and the MUHC Foundation are hoping to raise $5 million to purchase new state-of-the-art equipment. It’s part of the “Dream Big” campaign.

“The equipment is a big part of the care. But not only that, having better equipment brings brings employees,” said Dr. Merrett. “It brings staff, it brings in consultants retains them. These are all things that are going to improve the care as well. And if they have the tools they need, then they’re going to want to come here and stay here.”

“I’m just looking forward to see the first shovel hit the ground on Monday,” said Vodanovic. “It’s a hospital that will be good for all of Montreal, all of the West Island, because we’re having more operating rooms and it’s something that we we need.”