At a news conference Wednesday, Infrastructure Minister Elvis Loveless said the company will lead a $40.5 million project that will see major work done to repair the site. Marco Group CEO Chris Hickman was one of the company’s executives who donated to Andrew Furey’s 2020 leadership campaign. According to campaign finance statements available on the Elections NL website, the company donated about $11,000 to the Liberal Party for the 2021 election. Hickman also served as a guarantor for $150,000 of a $500,000 line of credit for the party during the same election. The Marco Group also donated to the 2021 election campaigns of both Loveless and John Abbott, currently Minister for Children, Older People and Social Development. The company did not donate to either the NDP or the PC Party, or their candidates. The Marco Group has been involved in several public-private partnership projects in the province, including the new mental health hospital under construction in St. John’s and the new penitentiary. Opposition parties also pressed Furey on whether the Marco Group would be involved in building a new hospital to replace St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital — although no dollar figures, timelines or other details about those plans have been released. Interim PC leader David Brazil says the project does “absolutely nothing” to improve access to health care in the province. “What it does is indicate to us that again, another Liberal-friendly company is getting $30 million more than originally budgeted,” Brazil said. “This is an embarrassment, it’s an insult to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, and it’s an insult to all those health workers who diligently work every day to keep us safe and healthy in Newfoundland and Labrador. .” In August, the government issued a public tender to improve and expand the emergency department at the Health Sciences Center in St John’s. The Health Sciences Center’s emergency room has been overwhelmed due to a shortage of health workers in the province. While construction may cause some new delays, Loveless and Health Secretary Tom Osborne — who was also at Wednesday’s announcement — say the government’s main goal is to improve a health care system in need. “It’s a good day again today for health care in Newfoundland and Labrador,” Loveless said. Great progress is being made in improving access to health care.
Expansion and improvement of the emergency department
The project will include expanding the current emergency department, which will serve patients at the Health Sciences Center and the adult mental health and addictions hospital currently under construction. The provincial government expects the work — including the demolition of the existing emergency room entrance — to be completed in 2026 and affect about 180 spaces in the current parking lot. The government says construction will take place in two phases, with Phase 1 completed in 2025 and Phase 2 in 2026. The current emergency room will remain open to patients and operate 24 hours a day. Loveless says the expansion and redevelopment will lead to high levels of employment for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Health Secretary Tom Osborne said the number of extra staff needed was unknown at this time. Interim NDP Leader Jim Dinn said one of his concerns is how the government will find staff to fill the positions in the expanded and improved emergency department, given the current shortage of health professionals in the province. “We have a number of short-term measures, but … who is going to be there until this is over to fix the problem?” The government says the new emergency department will include a psychiatric assessment unit, a new ambulance parking garage to allow indoor unloading, a medical imaging suite and a new registration area. The project will renovate 2,230 square meters of the existing space and add a 2,690 square meter extension. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
