A multi-million-dollar emergency department expansion at Trenton Memorial Hospital will get a significant boost thanks to Brighton’s first-ever “HomeBuild for Healthcare” home.
Gordon Tobey Developments and Stephen and Heather Tobey recently celebrated unveiling the new, three-bedroom, 2,250-square-foot home at 52 Beacon Dr. during a grand open-house-style event. The house is priced at $985,000 and will be sold to support the Trenton Memorial Hospital Foundation.
“We’re so excited Heather and Stephen took this on for Brighton,” said director of development Lindsay Butcher Dodds, while also speaking in an interim executive director role for the hospital foundation.
Butcher Dodds tells us the support is coming at a critical time for the hospital and community at large.
As previously reported, with the province and community’s help, the TMH emergency department (ED) will be transformed in the coming years to create a redeveloped and expanded “state-of-the-art” ED. Through this project, about 6,000 square feet will undergo renovations and 1,000 square feet will be added.
Exact cost figures haven’t yet been detailed, but capital costs have been reported in the millions. (Planning and design work and the like are also still ongoing.)
In addition to her secretary-treasurer role with Gordon Tobey Developments, Heather also serves on the hospital foundation’s board of directors and said when executive director Wendy Warner approached her to see if they would be interested in doing this project, it was a no-brainer.
“Stephen and I discussed it, and it was a quick ‘Yes, for sure, we’d love to help the hospital’ and that’s where it started.”
“The idea (was) that we design a home — and Tobey Developments has donated a lot — and then we (enlisted) the help of our trades and suppliers to reduce the cost of their services to build a home for as little cost as possible, and then at the end, it’s sold for market value and 100 per cent of the profit goes to the Trenton Memorial Hospital Foundation,” explained Heather, when asked about the idea behind the project and its start.
Work on the build started last September.
While giving thanks to area partners who’ve rallied to help with the project and reflecting on a “tremendous” amount of community support, Heather described an incredible experience.
The house is officially up for sale and will be listed on Realtor.ca and available for viewings.
While this is a first in Brighton, Butcher Dodds noted there have been similar projects in other communities in support of local healthcare. She called the Brighton home “beautiful.”
“From the Trenton hospital and the foundation, we just want to thank everybody (who) contributed to this amazing house and all the builders, all the subcontractors, every trade that participated, and especially to Heather and Stephen at Gordon Tobey Developments,” said Butcher Dodds.
Reflecting on the community’s support, “I’ve been blown away, and we’re so grateful for the impact that it’s going to have on the hospital,” continued Butcher Dodds.
During the corresponding provincial announcement of the expansion back in February, Stacey Daub, president and CEO of Quinte Health, touched on how area communities are growing, and hospital numbers are reflecting this. Care in the ED and in-patient units has grown rapidly over the last three years at TMH, and this is in addition to day surgery, diagnostic services, and more offered at TMH, explained Daub.
ED volumes in Trenton are up 25 per cent over the last three years — and in February, Daub also highlighted how in the last year alone, the in-patient unit has grown by 40 per cent at TMH.
This is more than an investment in bricks and mortar — it’s an investment in the future health and well-being of the community, said Daub.
As previously reported, the hope is to get the revamped ED open as soon as possible; however, current timelines are aimed at a 2027 completion date.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
