It was on November 9th 2023 in the former Thompson building before a huge gathering that an announcement was made for the plans of an extensive health hub that would be developed in our local Blenheim Community.
Dr. Lanz-O’Brien, his father Ed O’Brien and the board of directors unveiled plans for a new health care complex to be built in the former Thompson’s head office at 2 Hyland Drive.
The Health Hub will be a state-of-the art facility housing a number of physicians and variety of health care services to support the residents of South Kent and Chatham-Kent.
At that gathering it was announced that Peter and Annie Timmermans had purchased the building and that an anonymous donor contributed $625000 to assist in kick starting the project.
Generous community fund raising has also garnered plenty of funds to allow the project to proceed.
Ed O Brien who is the Chair of the Blenheim Medical Health Foundation indicated “The South Kent Community and Blenheim area has been very supportive of our soft fundraising drive. It’s amazing how the community has responded to this project. This project has no local, provincial or federal government money or grants. It will be paid for by our local donations. The BMHF will be doing specific fundraising activities in the coming months. Everywhere I go the interest level has been high on our progress , activity and fundraising”.
Through those funds that have been donated the Blenheim Medical Health Foundation is very pleased to acknowledge that the current building is now being retro-fitted to house the new and much larger location for doctors currently housed at the downtown Blenheim Medical Centre. This enables the Foundation to recruit much needed new primary care physicians to the space.
A prequalification process for construction firms in 2024 showed tremendous interest and prequalification of 8 vendors. In December of 2024 the foundation received 4 qualified and very competitive bids. Working with the firm Designatelier the local foundation formally awarded the work to Lester Construction of Windsor under CCDC contract on January 8th, 2025.
For 40 years Lester Group has been delivering effective and efficient project results in the Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional construction sectors. Since its inception in 1982, Lester Group has built a reputation as a leading name in Design / Build, Project Management and General Contracting services across Southwestern Ontario.
Construction is focused on building interior so there isn’t much to see when you drive by right now. You’ll start to see changes in the spring with new drainage, grading and paved parking lots in the front and back of building as well as some new building façade features and signage.
So far there are 5 medical/medical related services that will be offered at the Hub; the Chatham-Kent Family Health Team clinic and four others. We are partnering with those tenants to do their own reveal in future months. A lot more exciting things to come!
Cathy Smith who is on the board of directors and overseeing the construction project said Monday morning “It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come in such a short period of time. It was only 16 months ago that we publicly launched the Foundation and now we are physically seeing the Hub become a reality and its’s all because of the donors”.
Construction is focused on building interior so there isn’t much to see when you drive by right now. You’ll start to see changes in the spring with new drainage, grading and paved parking lots in the front and back of building as well as some new building façade features and signage.
So far there are 5 medical/medical related services that will be offered at the Hub; the Chatham-Kent Family Health Team clinic and four others. The foundation is partnering with those tenants to do their own reveal in future months. A lot more exciting things to come!
The BMFH is offering opportunities for business, organizations and individuals to consider partnerships in the construction and ongoing operations of the new Hub. While construction is well underway the building will need to be furnished.
For ideas on getting involved, send an email to bmhfhealthhub@gmail.com
RSVPs appreciated – bmhfhealthhub@gmail.com