General FAQ
What is the Rizzardo Health & Wellness Centre?
The Rizzardo Health & Wellness Centre (RHWC) is a state-of-the-art, health and wellness focused centre that gives residents of Innisfil and surrounding areas access to healthcare services, close to home.
Is it open?
Yes, the RHWC is open however some services remain closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
What are the hours?
The RHWC’s building hours are 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. on weekends. The hours of each healthcare provider will differ from the building hours. Please reach out to your healthcare provider for their hours of operation.
Why is the Town building a healthcare facility?
The Town of Innisfil is relentlessly focused on finding new and innovative ways to help the community. With a large portion of Innisfil residents living outside of a 15-minute radius to the nearest hospital or urgent care centre, we knew that we needed to bring essential services closer to home. Our population is growing and as more people move here and call Innisfil their home, there will be even more of a need for healthcare services. We are acting today to prepare for tomorrow.
Why is it named the Rizzardo Health & Wellness Centre?
The building’s name honours lead donors Diego and Sandra Rizzardo of SanDiego Homes Inc., who have graciously donated $2 million toward the development of this much needed community resource.
Financial FAQ
How much does it cost, and who is paying for it?
The total construction budget for the RHWC is $21,390,000. It is being funded by a variety of sources, including development charges and a $3.5 million capital fundraising campaign. To date, the community has donated over $3 million. As fundraising activities proceed and additional donors are secured, the construction budget may increase to add back features that were previously removed.
How does the cost of the RHWC compare to other health care facilities?
In 2018, the average construction cost of an ambulatory clinic facility in Ontario was $380.90/sq. ft. The RHWC construction is budgeted at $355/sq. ft., which is $46/sq. ft. lower than the provincial average.
What factors contribute to the cost of health care facilities?
Health facilities are subject to specific requirements around infection control. The RHWC has been designed to meet high infection prevent control standards including: substantially more fresh air exchanges per hour than a normal building; ducted return-air so that the ceiling plenum cannot carry air-borne viruses; advanced filtration; cove bases on the floors of exam rooms for easy cleaning; UV filtered drains on all handwash sinks; and all walls go to the underside of structure for containment and privacy purposes.
What kind of operation costs if any are anticipated once the building is functional?
The RHWC will have typical operating costs including: utilities, janitorial, maintenance, insurance and building management expenses of approximately $410,000 annually. These operating expenses will be recovered through tenant chargeback as additional rent and other streams of revenue within the RHWC (typical of commercial leases). The Town of Innisfil has allocated $5.1 million in committed debt for the project.
How long does the Town anticipate to have that debt? How does the Town plan to repay that debt?
The annual principle and interest payments on the $5.1 million in committed debt will be amortized and paid from RHWC lease revenues over the next 25 years.
Does the town anticipate the Rizzardo Health and Wellness Centre will generate revenue?
We anticipate a net operating surplus as a result of RHWC-generated revenue, minus operating expenses. We will have a better indication of when that might happen later in the year, as the RHWC’s social enterprise kitchen is still in the planning phase.
Community Kitchen FAQ
What is the Horodynsky Community Kitchen and how does it operate?
The Horodynsky Community Kitchen is named after local farmer, Boris Horodynsky, who supported the kitchen with a generous $1M donation. The kitchen consists of two parts: the community teaching kitchen, and InnCity Cafe
Teaching Kitchen:
This is where community classes and workshops will be held. This concept has received tremendous support from the community. In the stakeholder consultations that were held in 2018 and 2019, many residents saw the kitchen as a community hub that offered support for learning about nutritious and affordable meal options while providing an opportunity for social interaction. Community members have offered to support the space by donating food, time and expertise and local entrepreneurs are already vying to rent the kitchen for their own commercial needs.
InnCity Cafe
InnCity Cafe is a cafeteria-style kitchen with an indoor and outdoor seating area. InnCity Cafe offers delicious and healthy food options on the Town Campus, and creates an new revenue stream opportunity. The menu is based on Canada’s Food Guidelines with healthy alternatives and allows InnCity to do catering during business and off-hours. In the future, it may be converted to a fully operational Social Enterprise Kitchen (i.e. non-profit with social outcomes as its focus), but Town of Innisfil staff continue to do research on best practices in this area.
