Planned training and child-care centre next to Summerside hospital gets federal funding boost
Plans for the $25-million facility also include housing for UPEI med school students
A new multi-use facility that will include a child-care centre, along with training and housing spaces for medical school students, is one step closer to reality in Summerside.
On Saturday, the federal government announced $7 million in funding for the Prince County Hospital Foundation to help construct the facility on land the foundation bought next to the hospital back in 2024.
The announcement came one day before Liberal Leader Mark Carney triggered a federal election, with April 28 set as voting day.
Plans are still being finalized for the five-storey building, but the PCH Foundation's president sees the federal funding announcement as an investment in both PCH and Island health care as a whole.
"There were some needs brought up, especially in terms of recruitment and retention of hospital staff, regarding child care," said Derek Bondt.
"The research would indicate that when medical residents work and learn at a facility, they're more likely to stay in that community, so for us it's certainly a great investment in the future and long-term stability of the Prince County Hospital."
It's been 13 months since the Prince County Hospital Foundation announced the purchase of more than four hectares of land next to the hospital.
The purchase followed some moves by the foundation to secure housing to be used by travelling health-care professionals — including investing in a duplex and renting multiple apartments.
In addition to the early years centre for PCH staff and for teaching and housing space for residents enrolled in UPEI's new medical school, Bondt said the plans also include a floor where staff can train in a simulated hospital setting.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $25 million, with the P.E.I. government already kicking in $10 million.
Bondt said the foundation will raise funds to cover the remaining costs of construction, which is expected to start by spring 2026.
The foundation hopes to have the facility ready when the first cohort of medical school residents are deployed in 2027.