Commission gives green light to MUHC redevelopment plans
On October 29, 2003, the Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services, Philippe Couillard, established a Commission to review the plans of the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Health Centre (MUHC) and of the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) to redevelop their respective hospital facilities. This Commission was co-chaired by former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and former Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson. The Commission tabled its report with the Minister on April 16, 2004.
Although the report raises some issues about the specific plans put forward by the MUHC and the CHUM, their overall recommendation was that the projects should go forward in the best interests of providing quality health care for Quebecers and for ensuring that Montreal benefit both economically and socially from two world-class university hospitals. In the case of the MUHC, the Commission approved plans to build a new facility on a 43-acre site called the Glen Yards located in the central area of Montreal and to redevelop the Montreal General Hospital facility at its current location.
The Director General and CEO of the MUHC, Dr. Arthur T. Porter, said, "This is a great day for the MUHC, for Ï㽶ÊÓƵ and for academic medicine in Quebec. And most of all it is a great day for patient care. There is a lot of work ahead, but today we should take a moment to celebrate an accomplishment and a job well done."
You may read the full report (in French only) by clicking on the link titled "Rapport de la Commission d'analyse."
An English-language executive summary may be read [PDF].