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Province re-iterates $6 million support for Stevenson Hospital

May 5, 2022   ·   0 Comments

Ontario’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday reiterated its $6 million support towards the expansion of Alliston’s Stevenson Memorial Hospital.

The $6 million investment, which was underscored by the Ministry just hours before the writ as dropped for next month’s Provincial election, will go towards modernizing and expanding the building and supporting the planning of the first phase of the hospital’s redevelopment, including a new addition and a modern emergency department.

The redevelopment, they said, “will improve access to high-quality care for families in Simcoe County as the Province continues to build a stronger, more resilient health system that is better able to respond to crisis.”

“Investing in the redevelopment of Stevenson Memorial Hospital is another way our government is building a stronger, more resilient health care system that will keep our province open,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “The expansion of services and new, modern spaces will ensure the hospital can provide patients and families in Simcoe County with much-needed services close to home.”

To meet the needs of families as Simcoe County continues to grow, the first phase of the hospital’s redevelopment will modernize and expand the emergency department to be triple its current size, the Ministry noted. This will ensure that patients have access to high-quality care when they need it the most.

“The first phase also includes a new addition to the hospital, with a new front entrance and more parking. This is in addition to the expanded services announced in March including expanded diagnostic and surgical services and a new birthing suite. The redevelopment is planned to have space for nine new inpatient beds that would bring the total number of beds at the hospital to 47.

“This investment builds on the $1 million previously invested by the government in 2019, bringing the government’s total investment to $7 million to plan the hospital’s new infrastructure and upgrade its facilities to better meet the needs of the communities it serves.”

Added Jody Levac, President & CEO of Stevenson Memorial Hospital: “This investment will go a long way to ensure we continue to move forward on our redevelopment planning, in particular working on a Stage 3 submission. Costs associated with infrastructure projects are rising significantly, so this funding couldn’t be more important to us at this time. I thank the Ministry of Health for their continued support of our much-needed redevelopment project.”

Stevenson Memorial Hospital has received government approval to implement this major redevelopment, meaning this important project is part of the government’s 10-year capital plan. The province continues to work with Stevenson Memorial Hospital on the planning process, which includes designing the first phase of the redevelopment and assessing how the project can further help address the health care needs of patients and families in the region.

As part of the government’s over $1.2 billion investment to help hospitals recover from financial pressures created and worsened by COVID-19, Stevenson Memorial Hospital received over $0.77 million for 2020-21 lost revenue in order to provide financial stability and support continued high-quality patient care.

As part of the government’s $760 million commitment in the 2021 Budget to support over 3,100 additional hospital beds during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stevenson Memorial Hospital received funding for up to eight acute care beds.

“We need to meet the health care needs of our community, while we build for the future growth of our region,” said Doug Downey, MPP for Barrie-Springwater-Oro Medonte. “Preparation is the key to success. Expanding services will mean that we are better prepared to respond and can act quickly, which is especially crucial in the health care field. People want to feel confident that when they need help, help will be available. This redevelopment goes a long way to ensure that in our community.”

Echoed Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin: “As Simcoe County continues to rapidly grow; investing in our local hospitals is crucial to allow our health care workers, patients and families to have quality care, services and work that is accessible. Quality health care close to home means less financial strain and more time spent with family.”

By Brock Weir

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