Presidents of local hospitals to provide update to Regional Council

A rare All Councils Meeting is taking place Friday afternoon in Waterloo Region.

The three presidents of our regional hospitals will be giving an update on the development of the master plan for the new joint hospital, while also providing an overview of the state of our local health care.

The presentation begins with statistics about the 1.4 million people that the region’s hospitals serve and some of the challenges they’re facing.

The report lists old infrastructure, space constraints, a rapidly increasing and aging population with complex care needs, backlog of surgical and cancelled procedures from the pandemic, and health human resources shortages.

Waterloo-Wellington also falls under the provincial and federal rate for acute care beds per 1,000 at 1.1. This is before a projected population growth of 45 per cent, estimating that close to one million people will call Waterloo Region home by 2051.

Also included in the report are areas for growth outlined by each specific hospital. For example, Grand River Hospital (GRH) is planning to introduce neurosurgery, St. Mary’s General Hospital (SMGH) will be launching a Clinical Teaching Unit and Cambridge Memorial Hospital (CMH) is working to complete their redevelopment and their Post Construction Operating Plan.

The presentation will also look at how the Building the Future of Care Together project between GRH and SMGH is coming along. The hospitals are awaiting government approval of scope, and are currently focused on locations for all three proposed sites.

“SMGH and GRH are proposing one master plan voluntarily to serve the community. We will share space across three sites creating a more integrated patient experience and reduce duplication,” says the report. “We have an opportunity to bring together Waterloo Region’s technology, innovation and education partners to create the hospital of the future.”

The region is still 10-12 years away from any of the sites opening, although both GRH and SMGH will be engaging and consulting with the community through the planning and construction phases.

You can read more of the report here.