Over $15 million will be provided by the Province to plan and design a new Collingwood General and Marine Hospital.
This afternoon Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says it will expand the current hospital to replace existing aging infrastructure and help end hallway healthcare.
“The project is proposed to include the expansion of key areas such as intensive care, in-patient care, and the operating suite to increase capacity for more patients and their families,” said Elliott.
Elliott says communities can look forward to a modern hospital that will serve Collingwood and surrounding communities for years to come.
Starting in 2021/2022, the hospital will also receive a 4.2 percent annual operating funding increase over last year.
Originally built in 1956, the current Collingwood General and Marine Hospital has been serving a growing community with an increasing senior population for over 60 years with limited upgrades. Through this investment, the hospital’s aging infrastructure will be redeveloped through a mix of new construction as well as renovations.
The redeveloped hospital will include:
- the expansion of key services, including intensive care, emergency, diagnostic imaging and the operating suite;
- additional inpatient capacity to allow the hospital to serve more patients and families; and
- renovations to upgrade the existing facility to ensure a comfortable environment for patients to receive care.
This funding is in addition to the $500,000 previously invested to support early capital planning. Further planning work will confirm priority programs for the hospital. Timelines for project implementation and construction will be determined once planning has been completed.
“We are very pleased to receive approval from the Capital Branch of the Ministry of Health for our Stage One submission, and to officially move to Stage Two of the five-stage process,” said Norah Holder, Collingwood General, and Marine Hospital President and CEO. “Collingwood General and Marine Hospital and our community are excited to commence engaging in Stage Two of the process. This announcement represents a significant milestone regarding our hospital redevelopment project.”
In addition to supporting the hospital’s redevelopment and expansion, the Ontario government is taking further action to support Collingwood General and Marine Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing the hospital’s operating funding for the third straight year. Collingwood General and Marine Hospital will receive over $1.9 million in additional operating funding starting this year, representing an increase of 4.2 percent to the funding received by the hospital in 2020/21.
This is the third straight year of increased hospital investments across the province.