Ontario Construction News staff writer
Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital this week announced a site selection panel to identify a preferred site for the new joint hospital in Kitchener-Waterloo.
The five-member panel will invite input from the community, hospital teams, partners, municipalities, and subject matter experts on the draft site selection criteria that will be finalized and used to evaluate potential sites.
A public survey is available open until Aug. 3 to collect comments on the Building the Future of Care Together project website.
The panel will also be reaching out to hospital teams, municipalities, care groups, subject matter experts and others to get input on the criteria.
“This is an exciting opportunity for people across our community to help shape the future of health care in our region,” said Ron Gagnon, president and CEO, Grand River Hospital. “The location of the future hospital that will be shared by Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital is going to have a significant impact on how we continue to deliver exceptional patient care and help our community grow and prosper.
“We encourage community members to provide their input as part of this process.”
Recommendations on a preferred site for the new hospital to the Building the Future of Care Together (BFCT) Committee and the Boards of Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital by the end of 2023.
“Listening to our community is crucial to the success of this project. We want to hear from everyone touched by the health care we deliver – patients, team members who work in our existing sites, municipal partners, business leaders – so that the future hospital we build serves your needs in the best way possible. We have a strong vision for the future of health care in our region. Together, we can make it even better with input from all in our community,” said Mark Fam, president, St. Mary’s General Hospital.
The new hospital is a key piece of a broader proposal before the Ministry of Health to modernize and expand infrastructure and services to support a growing number of patients and their families in Waterloo Region and beyond.
St. Mary’s General Hospital and Grand River Hospital are also proposing to renew and repurpose two existing hospital sites:
- The midtown Kitchener-Waterloo Campus would be transformed into an ambulatory and urgent care centre; and
- The Freeport Campus in Kitchener would be modernized and expanded to increase our rehabilitation capacity.