The first patient could be welcomed into Waterloo Region’s newest hospital within a decade. Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN) gave an update on the upcoming hospital’s progress during an all-council meeting in Elmira on Friday. When it’s finished, the new two million square foot facility at the University of Waterloo will be one of the largest community hospitals in the province. It’s been in the works, in one form or another, for around 20 years, but the health network said it is moving faster than most hospital developments. “Getting the first patient in the hospital is a critical priority because we don’t have anywhere near the capacity that we need today to meet the needs of this community and definitely won’t have the needs to meet the growing community,” Ron Gagnon, Waterloo Regional Health Network’s president and CEO, said. Officials said they hope to welcome the first patient in 2035 and wrap up the final construction phase in 2039. The timeline is dependent on approvals from Ontario’s Ministry of Health. The next big hurdle is to get the project formally in the provincial budget, including a construction start date. “The reason we’re trying to move at a rapid pace is we know that every year that we delay is significant escalation in costs, which raises the cost of this project,” Gagnon explained. It is anticipated that approximately 25 to 30 per cent of the project will not be covered by government funding and will need to be paid for by hospital revenues, a fundraising campaign by the hospital foundation and contributions from local municipalities. At this time, it’s not clear how much the total cost of the project will be. Construction of the new hospital is expected to create around 19,000 jobs. The work will be done in phases and also includes plans to expand WRHN @ Chicopee, formerly known as Grand River Hospital – Freeport Campus, and renovate WRHN @ Midtown, formerly known as Grand River Hospital – KW Campus. When the new hospital opens, WRHN @ Queen’s Blvd., formerly known as St. Mary’s General Hospital, will close.
