Minister Kelvin Goertzen speaks during a press conference at the legislature in Winnipeg, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods)
STEINBACH, Man. — A nearly $32 million investment by the province will expand and renovate the Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach.
Premier Kelvin Goertzen announced the funding Friday, which will include additional acute care in-patient beds and expanded medical capacity, including a new renal dialysis unit.
“The COVID-19 pandemic remains the challenge of our time and our government’s bold vision to provide better health care, with improved access and services closer to home, for all Manitobans remains our top priority,” said Goertzen.
“Today’s announcement of the expansion and renovation at Bethesda Regional Health Centre will significantly reduce the need for those living in Steinbach and in the surrounding communities to travel elsewhere for care while providing the facility the capacity to continue to grow in the coming years to continue to meet the community’s needs.”
Under the government’s funding, the centre will see 23 additional acute care medicine beds, the treatment of palliative and end of life care, chronic and cardiopulmonary disease and women’s health, pharmacy upgrades that support the delivery of chemotherapy services and establish Bethesda as a regional hub for cancer services, and the construction of six dialysis stations to establish renal services.
The main part of the existing Bethesda Regional Health Centre opened in 1963, with the last significant upgrade completed in 2014 when a new emergency department was opened.
Designs for the new unit are underway with tendering expected to occur in early 2022. Goertzen says construction will immediately follow in the spring.
