Media representatives were invited to visit the construction site of the new Vaudreuil-Soulanges Hospital in Vaudreuil-Dorion on June 5 to see how work is progressing on the project. 

It's the largest healthcare project in Quebec and the second largest in Canada with a budget of $2.6 billion as reported in Renew Canada's 2023 annual report. It is scheduled to receive its first patient in 2026. 

The long-anticipated health care facility also represents an important addition to the hospital mission of the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de la Montérégie-Ouest

When completed, the new hospital will be better able to meet the growing health and social care needs of the region's population, improve the region's quality of life and contribute to its local economic vitality, according to the CISSS. 

Construction site 

The hospital construction site is the largest caisson project in North America to date. Excavation work has been completed and the shape of the two pavilions are clearly defined at ground level. 

The project requires 531 piles between 1.2 to 1.5 metres in diameter and up to 23 metres in length to build the hospital. 

There are 120 employees currently were working on site as of the end of May.  Work crews are continuing drilling work and installing caissons for the hospital's two pavilions. When construction peaks by the end of 2024, 1,000 workers will be on site. 

State-of-the-art health-care facility

The new 132,340 square meter building will be divided into two pavilions. The first pavilion will house most of the hospital's ambulatory and support care facilities, including an auditorium, reception facilities and laboratories.

The second 13-storey pavilion will house most of the hospital's critical care facilities, including emergency facilities, an operating theatre with 11 rooms, medical imaging facilities and patient care units. 

The hospital will have 404 beds, three shock rooms in its emergency department and intensive care unit staff to assess acutely ill patients and 10 zero gravity (ZER) chairs. 

"The future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital is much more than just a building," said a CISSSMO representative. Upon completion, the hospital will

- Recruit over 4,800 people including staff employees, managers, doctors and volunteers;

- Integrate user resources;

- Integrate an arts and culture initiative beyond the one percent policy requirement;

- Receive LEED certification and have an environmental waste management policy;

- Have an outdoor fitness trail and agriculture project on hospital grounds.

A study commissioned by Développement (DEV) Vaudreuil-Soulanges (DEV) by Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton concluded the hospital will contribute over $400 million annually to Quebec's gross domestic product.