A multimillion-dollar renovation of the emergency and X-ray departments at Petrolia\u2019s hospital is expected to soon go out for tender.<\/p>\n
Published Jan 08, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
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Standing outside of Petrolia’s hospital Thursday are, from left, Paula Reaume-Zimmer, CEO and president of Bluewater Health, Sarnia-Lambton OPP Bob Bailey, and Kathy Alexander, executive director of the Bluewater Health Foundation. Photo by Paul Morden \/The ObserverArticle content<\/p>\n
A multimillion-dollar renovation of the emergency and X-ray departments at Petrolia\u2019s hospital is expected to go out for tender in the coming weeks, a decade after planning for the project began.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re talking about an initiative that really began in 2016,\u201d Paula Reaume-Zimmer, president and CEO of Bluewater Health, said Thursday at the Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital of Bluewater Health while announcing the Ministry of Health has approved moving ahead with selecting a contractor.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThis has been a lot of work in the making, and we\u2019re excited to be here today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Once a contractor is selected, \u201cwe will start to see some significant activity here,\u201d Reaume-Zimmer said.<\/p>\n
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Paula Reaume-Zimmer, CEO and president of Bluewater Health, speaks Thursday during an announcement at Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital of Bluewater Health. Photo by Paul Morden \/The Observer<\/p>\n
Once started, the work is expected to take 18 to 24 months and the hospital will remain open during the renovations, she said.<\/p>\n
The project is an initial step in a long-term, multi-phase capital redevelopment of the hospital in Petrolia, with the initial renovations focused on the site\u2019s busy emergency department and its diagnostic imaging department.<\/p>\n
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\u201cEarly on, when we did the master plan, we had to make a decision on where we wanted to start and that\u2019s where the greatest need was,\u201d said Bob DeRaad, vice-president of clinical services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe equipment in the diagnostic imaging department was quite dated, and the emergency department was originally designed to accommodate 7,500 visits (a year) and now we\u2019re seeing north of 22,000 visits,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The work during the initial project will be divided into eight phases so the departments at the hospital can continue serving patients, DeRaad said.<\/p>\n
Reaume-Zimmer said the cost of the initial project won\u2019t be known until the tender process is complete but hospital officials said in 2024 it was expected to be \u201cmillions.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The emergency department will be \u201ca little bit larger\u201d with \u201ca lot more examination rooms,\u201d when the work is completed, DeRaad said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lines of sight will be a lot better for the staff,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very cut up right now and we\u2019ve never had a central monitoring station\u201d which will be part of the update, DeRaad said.<\/p>\n
The overall master plan consists of five phases in total and \u201ceventually, the whole Petrolia site will be renovated,\u201d he said. \u201cThere will be some new construction, as well, but that will be 25, 30 years down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
Typically, the community is expected to raise a portion of the cost of capital projects at hospitals, and that fundraising will be the responsibility of foundations at Bluewater Health and CEE.<\/p>\n
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Mark Braet, chairperson of the CEE foundation, said they\u2019ve already raised $1.2 million and are waiting to see the tender results to learn what the goal will be.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last number we heard was around $4 million,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Mark Braet, chairperson of the CEE Hospital Foundation, speaks Thursday at the hospital in Petrolia. Photo by Paul Morden \/The Observer<\/p>\n
Braet said he\u2019s confident the fundraising goal can be achieved, regardless of where the final figures land.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to start the ball rolling now,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m sure we can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Providing health care in rural areas, like Petrolia, is important, Reaume-Zimmer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact is this hospital needs to operate at maximum capacity with the highest quality in partnership with the Sarnia site,\u201d she said. \u201cThe demand requires both.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey said he never lost faith the project eventually would receive ministry approval to go to tender \u201cbut I sure as heck wondered, \u2018when\u2019s it going to happen?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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Bailey said he\u2019s happy the day has finally arrived, after a long wait.<\/p>\n
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Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey speaks Thursday during an announcement at Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital of Bluewater Health. Photo by Paul Morden \/The Observer<\/p>\n
There have been times during the past decades when residents of the Petrolia area had to rally to keep the Petrolia hospital open.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s named for the spouse of Jake Englehart, a founder of Imperial Oil, and was donated to the town following her death, with the hospital opening more than a century ago in what had been the couple\u2019s Petrolia mansion.<\/p>\n
Bailey said he recalls battles with provincial governments dating back decades to the days of the late long-serving Lambton MPP Lorne Henderson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were going to close this hospital and the story is he got up out of a sickbed and drove to Toronto and threatened to cross the floor,\u201d if it was closed, Bailey said, \u201cThey changed their mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
About two decades ago, a group of Petrolia-area residents came together to save the hospital when it again faced potential closing by the provincial government.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe community rallied up to support it and keep it open,\u201d Bailey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd here we are today . . . talking about a major renovation of this hospital to make it even more successful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n