NEWMARKET — As part of its plan to build a stronger, more resilient health care system that is better prepared to respond to crisis, the Ontario government is investing $5 million to expand Southlake Regional Health Centre. This funding will support planning to build a new state-of-the-art hospital and redevelop the existing site to meet the growing demand for services and improve access to high-quality health care for residents of York Region and Simcoe County.
“Expanding Southlake is a critical part of our government’s plan to build a stronger, more resilient health care system in York Region and Simcoe County,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “For far too long, these fast-growing communities have dealt with hallway health care. With this investment, we’re telling families that we will ensure that they will have access to the high-quality care they need, close to home.”
Despite serving some of the fastest growing communities in Ontario, Southlake has not received a significant acute care expansion since 2003. Since then, the number of patients treated in the hospital’s emergency department has nearly doubled and the hospital is regularly overcapacity and often has the largest number of hallway beds in the Central Region of Ontario.
Today’s investment will help Southlake plan its phased expansion to become a two-site hospital system that can meet the needs of the growing communities it serves now and for generations to come. Over 100 new inpatient beds are planned to be added to Southlake, bringing the total number of beds to over 600. The new beds will help the world-class team at Southlake continue to provide high-quality care and end hallway health care in York Region and Simcoe County.
Planning for the new state-of-the-art hospital will also include expanded acute and post-acute care, critical care and emergency care, diagnostic imaging, surgery and mental health care.
In addition, Southlake’s expansion will transform the current Davis Drive site into a modern ambulatory care centre. As phases of the project are completed, families will be able to look forward to increased access to multiple integrated inpatient and outpatient services.
“On behalf of the nearly 6,000 staff, physicians, volunteers and learners at Southlake I would like to thank the provincial government for supporting our vision of a state-of-the-art two-site hospital system,” said Arden Krystal, Southlake’s President and CEO. “Today’s historic announcement represents a major milestone in our organization’s 100-year history and will ensure that Southlake has the necessary infrastructure to continue to care for our rapidly growing communities for decades to come. To the communities we serve who have always rallied around the hospital, with this monumental announcement Southlake will be able to stay by your side.”
Ontario is working with Southlake on the early stages of the planning process, which include identifying programming, operational and space requirements and assessing how the project can meet the health care needs of patients and families in the region.