Local 793 members are busy working on the South Niagara Hospital project located in Niagara Falls.
The 12-storey medical facility will eventually hold 469 single patient bedrooms, eight operating suites, 42 hemodialysis stations, two MRI machines and an Indigenous healing space and garden.
Our members on site not only take pride in their work but also gain immense satisfaction from helping create a facility they know will benefit their community for generations to come.
Calvin Hesson, a member of Local 793 since 2006 working for Rankin on site, says the thrill of working on a big project is as special now as when he was first starting out.
“We were all talking and agreed that it’s pretty cool because we were here when we stripped the topsoil, this was all just a grassy field when we first started. It’s a cool project, a forever thing. It will be so neat to drive by and say I helped build that,” said Hesson.
For Richard Olinski, who is also employed by Rankin, the build is personal. “It’s nice to see the building going up. My mom works in healthcare, so she’s happy as well that I’m working on this project,” he said.
If any further motivation was required, veteran member Chris De Mooy was only half joking when he added, “I’ll probably be in here one day!”
The 1.3 million square foot South Niagara Hospital is due for completion in 2028.