Planned training and child-care centre next to Summerside hospital gets federal funding boost

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 3:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

A caller multi-use installation that volition see a child-care centre, on with training and lodging spaces for aesculapian schoolhouse students, is 1 measurement person to world successful Summerside.

On Saturday, the national authorities announced $7 cardinal successful backing for the Prince County Hospital Foundation to assistance conception the installation connected onshore the instauration bought next to the infirmary backmost successful 2024.

The announcement came 1 time earlier Liberal Leader Mark Carney triggered a national election, with April 28 acceptable arsenic voting day. 

Plans are inactive being finalized for the five-storey building, but the PCH Foundation's president sees the national backing announcement arsenic an concern successful some PCH and Island wellness attraction arsenic a whole. 

"There were immoderate needs brought up, particularly successful presumption of recruitment and retention of infirmary staff, regarding kid care," said Derek Bondt. 

"The probe would bespeak that erstwhile aesculapian residents enactment and larn astatine a facility, they're much apt to enactment successful that community, truthful for america it's surely a large concern successful the aboriginal and semipermanent stableness of the Prince County Hospital."

It's been 13 months since the Prince County Hospital Foundation announced the acquisition of much than 4 hectares of onshore adjacent to the hospital. 

The acquisition followed immoderate moves by the instauration to unafraid lodging to beryllium utilized by travelling health-care professionals — including investing in a duplex and renting aggregate apartments.

In summation to the aboriginal years centre for PCH unit and for teaching and lodging abstraction for residents enrolled successful UPEI's caller aesculapian school, Bondt said the plans besides see a level wherever unit tin bid successful a simulated infirmary setting.

The full outgo of the task is estimated astatine $25 million, with the P.E.I. authorities already kicking successful $10 million. 

Bondt said the instauration volition rise funds to screen the remaining costs of construction, which is expected to commencement by outpouring 2026. 

The instauration hopes to person the installation acceptable erstwhile the archetypal cohort of aesculapian schoolhouse residents are deployed successful 2027.