St. Mary’s General Hospital and Grand River Hospital welcomed approval by the Ontario government today for a planning grant that will see a joint project to build new and renewed hospital infrastructure, designed to better meet patient care needs in our rapidly growing community.

As one of the fastest growing areas in the country, Waterloo Region experiences rapid population growth, with hospitals that operate at over capacity almost every day. The pressure and overcrowding at our hospitals will only increase – unless we build for our future.

The planning grant of $5 million announced by the Ontario Ministry of Health will allow the two organizations to advance to the next phase of planning on a shared vision to expand and modernize hospital infrastructure for patients in Waterloo Region.

“We are grateful to our provincial partners for taking this important step with both hospital organizations to work together to build a better future of care in Waterloo Region,” says Sandra Hanmer, Board Chair, Grand River Hospital. “We need infrastructure that will allow us to not only provide high quality care for our community today but continue to grow and meet the needs of tomorrow.”

“Planning for new and renewed hospital infrastructure engineered and built to modern design standards will help us continue providing patients the high-quality care they deserve as our community grows,” says Marion Thomson Howell, Chair of the Board of Trustees, St. Mary’s General Hospital. “We know that together our organizations will be able to build better hospital facilities through collaboration than we ever could by going it alone.”

The planning grant announced today will enable the hospitals to build on a long history of partnership to continue developing a proposal starting with engagements to further identify the services our community will need, the best locations for these services, and how to deliver this project on the fastest timeline.

Decisions on all aspects of the plan will be made collaboratively, through engagement with staff from both hospital organizations, our health system partners, the community and the government with the goal of creating a design that celebrates the strengths and specialties of each organization.

“This commitment to modernize Waterloo Region’s current hospital infrastructure will build on the long-standing tradition of innovation, integrated care and clinical excellence,” says Sister Anne Anderson, C.S.J, Board Chair St. Joseph’s Health System. “This is an exciting opportunity to lead new models of care that will strengthen existing partnerships and increase access to specialized and compassionate care for those we serve.”

While we plan for a future hospital and renewed facilities, continued investment in our current hospitals remains critically important to ensure we can continue to provide high-quality patient care.

In the days ahead, we will be launching the next stage of this joint project with a website to share information about the project as our planning progresses and engage members of the community to provide input. Further details about the website will be announced as they are finalized.

About St. Mary’s General Hospital:

Located in the heart of Kitchener, Ontario, St. Mary’s known provincially and nationally as a leader in innovation, patient safety, and patient satisfaction. It is the second-largest acute care hospital in the St. Joseph’s Health System and a Regional Cardiac Care and Thoracic Centre. St. Mary’s proudly serves the residents of Waterloo, Wellington County, and extends its reach to Dufferin, Grey-Bruce and beyond.

St. Mary’s is a Top 100 Forbes Canada’s Top Employers with a dedicated, talented and passionate team of nearly 2,000 staff, physicians and volunteers. This team provides high-quality, compassionate care to hundreds of thousands of patients and families every year.

Learn more about Our Mission, Values & History and the future of care at St. Mary’s

About Grand River Hospital:

Grand River Hospital is one of Ontario’s largest community hospitals with an outstanding team of 6,000 dedicated health care workers, medical and clinical students, and volunteers. We provide services and support to more than 840,000 residents at our two campuses and satellite locations in Waterloo Region and Guelph Wellington. We take pride in the ways we collaborate with our health system partners, our region’s academic and innovation communities, and diverse community partners as we work toward providing a world-class experience for patients, families and team members.

Our programs include cancer and renal (kidney) services; care for the most seriously ill and injured adults; services for mothers, newborns and children; emergency care; mental health and addictions; and care for older adults including rehabilitation. Learn more about our programs here.

Read the full details from the Ontario Ministry of Health here.