Walls come down — Construction begins on centre for patient-oriented research

Construction has officially begun on the W.J. Henderson Centre for Patient-Oriented Research.

Work on the 9,000 square-foot discovery hub on the Connell 4 wing of Kingston General Hospital was kicked off today by representatives of the W.J. Henderson Foundation, which pledged $1 million to the $4.2 million project, and other donors, who took ceremonial sledgehammer swings at the walls of the space to be renovated. Funding of $1.2 million was also provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation. 

The multidisciplinary research facility provides clinical research opportunities for clinicians, research staff and patients and families across Southeastern Ontario. The centre will increase hospital-based research space in the city by 25 per cent, and earns KGH a position among the top research hospitals in the country. 

When complete, the new space will offer clinicians, for the first time, the facilities and capability to conduct Phase 1 clinical trials, a crucial first step in the development of new treatment or drug candidates.

The facility will also boast six research labs to be used by multiple research teams, facilities to carry out patient studies, a biohazard Level 2 tissue preparation area, and more. 

Construction is expected to be finished by the summer of 2017.

“The creation of the W.J. Henderson Centre for Patient-Oriented Research will be a game-changer for research in our region,” says Dr. Roger Deeley, Vice President of Health Sciences Research at KGH, and President of the KGH Research Institute. “It will enable the development of new treatments and treatment guidelines, and new diagnostic tests and procedures, which will ultimately result in improved patient care within Kingston and beyond.”

“We were privileged to have more than 160 donors contribute to this innovative facility,” says Denise Cumming, President and CEO of the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation (UHKF). “It’s clear that the Kingston community recognizes the importance of clinical research and was willing to make the Centre for Patient-Oriented Research a reality.”