Health Minister Yves Bolduc was in the region this week announcing that a location for a future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital will be made public sometime early this fall. The minister would not narrow down where, within the region’s 23 municipalities, the hospital might be situated, but said the hospital should be open by 2018.
The minister said the eventual land site will have sufficient room for future expansion projects including a possible CEGEP or university nearby. At an earlier press conference, the minister had said patients would be served in the language of their choice. The Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital is expected to help ease overcrowding at hospitals in Pointe-Claire and Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, and should create up to 2,000 jobs in the region.
Bolduc also announced a provincial decision to group all Vaudreuil-Dorion CLSC services under one roof. Services at the CSSS de Vaudreuil-Dorion Health and Social Services Centre will be consolidated to offer residents ambulatory and specialized medical care in one place rather than buildings situated along boulevard Harwood in Vaudreuil-Dorion. The move is expected to result in better care for patients. The ministry will lease a building that should double the size of current facilities. It could take up to 24 months to set up the new service.
In other health news, Bolduc announced another $360,000 in funding for the regional palliative care home, located in Hudson. The funds will be used to offer more beds. The home currently has 12 beds.
