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The recommendation of London as the site for the $50-million hospital is 'a defining moment' for the city.
After a five-year roller-coaster ride, London has been picked -- for the second time -- as the home for the Shriners $50-million Canadian children's hospital. A beaming Tony Dagnone, fresh from a conference call with Shriners meeting in Maui, Hawaii, announced the decision at a packed news conference yesterday.
"London has experienced a defining moment," Dagnone said as the room full of Shriners and members of the city's bid committee erupted in cheers.
The board's choice to go with London rather than the other bidders for the 40-60 bed hospital -- Montreal and Ottawa -- was unanimous, Dagnone said.
Gene Bracewell, treasurer of the Shriners and head of the hospital selection committee, said the board is fully behind the choice of London.
"We are going full tilt now," Bracewell said from Maui.
"I am sure Montreal is disappointed and they are great people there, as is Ottawa, but we have to look at doing what is best for the kids in the future.
"They do fantastic work in Montreal, but the future is brighter in London for research, for robotics, telemedicine and everything."
The hospital will mean 100 new medical jobs for the city, including specialists and researchers, Dagnone said.
The board's choice must be ratified by two-thirds of the 1,200 voting delegates to the international fraternity's convention in Baltimore in July.
Dagnone and others said they expect a tough fight from Montreal, which has been home to the Shriners' only Canadian hospital since 1925 and will be losing the facility.
Reaction in Ottawa and Montreal was sharply negative, with an Ottawa official calling it the worst possible decision for children and Montreal promising to campaign to keep the hospital.
Montreal's mayor vowed to fight for the hospital until the end.
A year ago, the Shriners' board unanimously backed building the new hospital in London, but after Montreal launched a vigorous campaign to overturn the decision, delegates in Denver last July voted to continue considering Montreal, Ottawa and London.
Grant Fotheringham, potentate of the Shriners' 3,800-member Mocha Temple in London, said his group will work to ensure the recommendation is passed at the convention in Baltimore.
Fotheringham said he's confident they will succeed, adding: "It is going to be a big task."
A spokesperson for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty cautiously welcomed the Shriners' announcement and pledged that the premier and Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman would work with the fraternity before the final vote.
"It is only a recommendation, but we are very happy," said McGuinty spokesperson Jane Almeida. "We are pleased that Ontario is one step closer to getting the hospital."
London Health Sciences Centre has offered the Shriners a 2.4-hectare site on the proposed hospital's Victoria campus at Wellington and Base Line roads.
"This really is an historical moment for this community," London Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco said. "It says that we can really make things happen in this community."
Fotheringham said the 1,200 delegates to the Baltimore convention will receive a package a month in advance explaining the reasons for the board's recommendation to move the hospital to London.
Mocha Shriners will also work to reassure Shriners in the eastern U.S. and Atlantic Canada they won't face additional costs and inconvenience with the hospital being built in London instead of Montreal.
"As Shriners, we have to keep this as a business decision," Fotheringham said. "We have to do this for the best of the children."
Dr. Kellie Leitch, head of pediatric orthopedic surgery in London, said the Shriners' decision is "spectacular" and will energize the city's medical community.
"It is a huge opportunity for providing better surgical care, as well as pediatric care, to the children of Southwestern Ontario and Ontario," she said.
The Shriners' hospital site selection committee first visited London more than five years ago as it launched its search for a site.
Dagnone credited London's successful bid to work by his hospital board, medical staff, the City of London, the University of Western Ontario, the London Airport Authority, city businesses and the Mocha Shriners.
Ontario's premier and health minister also played crucial roles. Dagnone made special mention of London MPP and Labour Minister Chris Bentley for quietly making sure the issue was given the necessary attention by the government.
"The Shriners chose us because they had confidence in all of the people associated with London. That would be the No. 1 factor in their decision."
Copyright © The London Free Press
The recommendation of London as the site for the $50-million hospital is 'a defining moment' for the city.
After a five-year roller-coaster ride, London has been picked -- for the second time -- as the home for the Shriners $50-million Canadian children's hospital. A beaming Tony Dagnone, fresh from a conference call with Shriners meeting in Maui, Hawaii, announced the decision at a packed news conference yesterday.
"London has experienced a defining moment," Dagnone said as the room full of Shriners and members of the city's bid committee erupted in cheers.
The board's choice to go with London rather than the other bidders for the 40-60 bed hospital -- Montreal and Ottawa -- was unanimous, Dagnone said.
Gene Bracewell, treasurer of the Shriners and head of the hospital selection committee, said the board is fully behind the choice of London.
"We are going full tilt now," Bracewell said from Maui.
"I am sure Montreal is disappointed and they are great people there, as is Ottawa, but we have to look at doing what is best for the kids in the future.
"They do fantastic work in Montreal, but the future is brighter in London for research, for robotics, telemedicine and everything."
The hospital will mean 100 new medical jobs for the city, including specialists and researchers, Dagnone said.
The board's choice must be ratified by two-thirds of the 1,200 voting delegates to the international fraternity's convention in Baltimore in July.
Dagnone and others said they expect a tough fight from Montreal, which has been home to the Shriners' only Canadian hospital since 1925 and will be losing the facility.
Reaction in Ottawa and Montreal was sharply negative, with an Ottawa official calling it the worst possible decision for children and Montreal promising to campaign to keep the hospital.
Montreal's mayor vowed to fight for the hospital until the end.
A year ago, the Shriners' board unanimously backed building the new hospital in London, but after Montreal launched a vigorous campaign to overturn the decision, delegates in Denver last July voted to continue considering Montreal, Ottawa and London.
Grant Fotheringham, potentate of the Shriners' 3,800-member Mocha Temple in London, said his group will work to ensure the recommendation is passed at the convention in Baltimore.
Fotheringham said he's confident they will succeed, adding: "It is going to be a big task."
A spokesperson for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty cautiously welcomed the Shriners' announcement and pledged that the premier and Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman would work with the fraternity before the final vote.
"It is only a recommendation, but we are very happy," said McGuinty spokesperson Jane Almeida. "We are pleased that Ontario is one step closer to getting the hospital."
London Health Sciences Centre has offered the Shriners a 2.4-hectare site on the proposed hospital's Victoria campus at Wellington and Base Line roads.
"This really is an historical moment for this community," London Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco said. "It says that we can really make things happen in this community."
Fotheringham said the 1,200 delegates to the Baltimore convention will receive a package a month in advance explaining the reasons for the board's recommendation to move the hospital to London.
Mocha Shriners will also work to reassure Shriners in the eastern U.S. and Atlantic Canada they won't face additional costs and inconvenience with the hospital being built in London instead of Montreal.
"As Shriners, we have to keep this as a business decision," Fotheringham said. "We have to do this for the best of the children."
Dr. Kellie Leitch, head of pediatric orthopedic surgery in London, said the Shriners' decision is "spectacular" and will energize the city's medical community.
"It is a huge opportunity for providing better surgical care, as well as pediatric care, to the children of Southwestern Ontario and Ontario," she said.
The Shriners' hospital site selection committee first visited London more than five years ago as it launched its search for a site.
Dagnone credited London's successful bid to work by his hospital board, medical staff, the City of London, the University of Western Ontario, the London Airport Authority, city businesses and the Mocha Shriners.
Ontario's premier and health minister also played crucial roles. Dagnone made special mention of London MPP and Labour Minister Chris Bentley for quietly making sure the issue was given the necessary attention by the government.
"The Shriners chose us because they had confidence in all of the people associated with London. That would be the No. 1 factor in their decision."
Copyright © The London Free Press