The Eastern Ontario Health Unit will be the anchor tenant of a new health care building on the Winchester District Memorial Hospital site.

PHOTO CREDIT - WDMH

Winchester - Feb. 20, 2011 - The Winchester District Memorial Hospital will soon have a new neighbour.

The hospital and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit recently announced that the EOHU will be the anchor tenant for a new health care building on the hospital site. "The Eastern Ontario Health Unit is pleased to be moving from its current location on Main Street into this new and modern facility on the hospital campus which will serve as a 'hub' and be convenient for our population," said Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, the EOHU's medical officer of health in a recent press release.

The building will also house other health and community related service providers, who, in partnership with the hospital, serve the needs of multiple rural communities.

A separate not-for-profit corporation has been established to build and manage the new building, which is not part of the hospital's operation. The new company will contract management services from the hospital, and it will have a separate board of directors.

"Providing building space for these health and community-related organizations is an ideal use of hospital lands and fits the board's mandate of integrating WDMH's health related and community-focused services," stated John Polak, chair of the WDMH board of directors. "WDMH is a very progressive rural community hospital. In fact, it is quickly becoming a centre for rural health and education, bringing key health care services that our community requires together. We are working to meet the unique needs of the rural populations that we serve."

The new stand-alone, single storey building will be developed on the southwest side of the hospital property and will include a separate offstreet entrance to Fred Street. The building will be approximately 15,000 square feet.