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OCTOBER 2017 | 67 Milton District Hospital Redevelopment RENDERINGS COURTESY INFRASTRUCTURE ONTARIO Milton District Hospital Redevelopment by NATALIE BRUCKNER-MENCHELLI O ver the past few years the community of Milton in Ontario has experienced exponential growth. In 2001 Milton had around 30,000 residents. Today, that figure is closer to 110,000, and by 2030 it is estimated this once small agricultural community will reach 250,000 residents. To meet the increasing care needs of Canada's fastest growing community and accommodate new technologies that are changing the way hospital care is delivered, Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care began working with Halton Healthcare Services to expand Milton District Hospital (MDH) using IO's Alternative Financing and Procurement delivery model. "The redevelopment was long overdue," explains Arin Arat, senior project manager at Infrastructure Ontario. "The hospital was initially opened in the late 50s and underwent a renovation in the 80s. The equipment was getting old and the population growth was putting a great strain on the hospital and its staff. Milton desperately needed this expansion." Arat says the project will add 330,000 square feet of new patient- centred space; more than tripling the size of the hospital and doubling its inpatient beds from the current 63 beds to capacity for 129 beds. Designing a hospital that would not only complement the existing building as well as the surroundings, but one that would be patient and family-focused, foster a positive work environment, be community centric and flexible enough to permit adaptations over time as new thinking and best practices emerge in healthcare, was indeed a challenge. "There's a real soul to projects like this that are about renewing and expanding a building that truly means something to the local community," says Chris McQuillan from B+H Architects. In order to design a hospital that felt like it truly belonged to its agriculturally- rich heritage, materials for the rectangular addition were chosen that reflected the surrounding landscape. "On the residential side of the building we used brick on the exterior that is reminiscent of the brick used on the homes in Milton. For the larger portions of the hospital we chose a combination of local eramosa limestone, materials that are reminiscent of wood to provide a softness to the design and metal finishes on the mechanical penthouse, for example, like that used on agricultural barns," says McQuillan. The main part of the building is essentially a big rectangle that contains the emergency surgery critical care and all the logistical elements, while to the south is the inpatient unit that has around 76 beds and contains a birthing unit and nursery on the ground floor, and inpatient units on the two floors above. The main entrance is somewhat of a showcase of the building. It features an impressive overhang with a wood- like finish and a large fountain that acts like an inviting landmark. Inside the entrance you are welcomed by a two- storey fireplace and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Health and wellness are inspired at MDH through connections to nature, light and view. The public zone is filled with abundant light and is oriented wherever possible to capture views of the Niagara Escarpment. McQuillan adds that terrazzo floors inside mimic the pattern of farmland from the sky with a patchwork of colours in different fields, depending on what is planted. While designed for the most part as two separate buildings, the new and old hospital are joined via a main corridor. Courtyard spaces also help bring the two buildings together and provide areas for the community to relax, as well as private therapy areas for those inside. "This layout is dramatically different from traditional inpatient design, which primarily consists of ward rooms with one centralized nursing station. Here the Medical-Surgical inpatient units are designed with three 12-bed pods, with one decentralized team station per pod. Decentralization puts equipment, supplies and staff closer to the patient, enabling more direct care time with patients in a unit," explains Bill Bailey, VP of redevelopment, Halton Healthcare. One of the guiding principles to support the design and build of the new hospital was the use of LOCATION 725 Bronte Street South, Milton, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER Infrastructure Ontario / Halton Healthcare PROJECT MANAGER Plenary Group (Canada) Ltd. ARCHITECT B+H Architects DBFM CONTRACTOR PCL Constructors Canada Inc. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT WSP MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Smith + Andersen LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Quinn Design Associates Inc. TOTAL SIZE 330,000 square feet TOTAL COST $512 million

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