Contract Signed to Complete Rehabilitation Work at CRH

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has signed a contract with construction firm M and M Jamaica Ltd. for the completion of the second to last phase of rehabilitation work on the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in St. James.

Signing of the contract took place during a ceremony held at Sandals Inn in St. James on Thursday (November 18).

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton in his address, stated that there is now a “revised road map” in place for the rehabilitation of CRH.

The Minister, who admitted that the rehabilitation of the Type A facility has been a “consistent source of discontent”, noted that repair of the hospital has taken various turns.

“We had to change course several times, but I am hoping that this particular course will be the [one] that takes us to completion and will end the season of discontent that still lingers,” Dr. Tufton said.

The Minster noted that funding for this phase of the project is estimated at close to $1.7 billion.

He said there is a “clear path, a definition of work” that is in place that the contractor is aware of, and there is “no ambiguity” around that.  He added that work for this phase of the project is expected to begin in short order.

“Not tomorrow, not next week, we are running into Christmas, but …if it’s even the scaffolding and the mesh around the building we will try and do something before Christmas, because I want January morning to be serious business, if not before,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tufton also highlighted that hospital construction is not a typical project, as such, United States based engineering firm, WSP, led by Senior Vice President – Healthcare at the company, Gary Hamilton, has been tapped as commissioning agent on the project.

A commissioning agent works closely with lead contractors to ensure that a building or construction project meets the operational requirements of the client.

“Gary is Jamaican, grew up in Westmoreland, went to [the] Manning’s School, did engineering, [migrated] abroad, and he now represents more than half of the United States in hospital construction and renovation, with a massive team of technical people who have built hospitals in the Caribbean and all over the US,” the Minister noted.

“He understands the standards that need to be established, he understands the technical requirements and essentially, his firm is now the advisor to the Ministry of Health and Wellness. So, they are going to check everything and tell us when things may go awry or when information is incomplete, or [when] work may be going off the rails; and they are going to mobilise, as necessary, the team that is required to come in and play a role there.

“So, I am very happy to have his firm on board. He has already been here two or three times, to tour the [CRH] building [and] meet with stakeholders, and we anticipate him visiting a lot more frequently, he or his other team members,” Dr. Tufton said.

Mr. Hamilton, in his remarks, noted that WSP was “happy to help,” and noted that CRH was “dear to his heart”.

“I am always happy to come back home to lend my expertise to a project of this importance,” he said.

“We (WSP) come in and we share a global expertise, we have 43,000 staff globally, we also have 550 offices globally in about 40 countries, [so] this is something that we do not take lightly,” he said.

Mr. Hamilton noted that WSP will also ensure that whatever expertise is brought to the island during the project “is something that we can train the local staff to make sure that they are able to take control of this hospital when it is completed, so that this hospital is renovated in the most effective and efficient manner so that patients of the western region of Jamaica can be served.”

Managing Director of M and M Jamaica Ltd. Donald Mullings, thanked the government for the opportunity to rehabilitate the hospital. He added that the company was aware of the importance of the project and it will be a “typical M and M project. We have a record of 100 per cent success in our projects and we intend to ensure that there is no less urgency and no less importance placed on the work to be done at Cornwall Regional.”

M and M Jamaica Ltd. also spearheaded construction of the Emancipation Park in Kingston, and more recently, the Harmony Beach Park in St. James.