Premier Doug Ford was at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie today to announce up to $2.5 million in funding ahead of construction of the new south campus health hub in neighbouring Innisfil.
The province says the funding will expand health-care services and improve access to care for patients and families in Barrie and southern Simcoe County communities as they continue to grow.
“With this investment, the people and families of Simcoe County will now have access to the world-class health care that this growing community needs and deserves," Ford said.
The south campus in Innisfil is expected to be implemented in a phased manner, starting with ambulatory and urgent care services, so that patients are envisioned to have access to outpatient services closer to home, including day surgeries, minor medical procedures, treatments and diagnostic tests.
The new south campus health hub will also free up capacity and reduce wait-times at the north campus emergency department in Barrie.
Currently, RVH has 390 beds at its Georgian Drive location. As part of its $3-billion expansion plans, that will grow to 478 beds in five years and 611 beds in a decade. There are to be 915 beds between both campuses in 20 years.
Barrie city councillors received an update on RVH's $3-billion expansion plans from RVH president and chief executive officer, Janice Skot, during this week's meeting.
Last summer, RVH officials announced plans to expand the existing Georgian Drive hospital in Barrie — now referred to as the north campus — during a 10-year period and develop a new south campus in Innisfil to meet local demands and ongoing population growth. The south campus would be built on 83 acres at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Innisfil Beach Road.
At that time, Skot said the new hospital in Innisfil would be about the size of what RVH is today and would see more than 350,000 patient visits each year.
Earlier this year, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark granted the Town of Innisfil's request for a minister’s zoning order (MZO) to accelerate the development of the new south campus project.
On Monday night, Skot said there was a level of urgency for the projects to move ahead as the region braces for a population explosion in the coming years.
“Conservatively over the next 30 years, more than 200,000 new residents will move to south Simcoe and most of that growth will be in Barrie," she told council.
The city’s Official Plan says Barrie’s population will double to 298,000 by 2051.
Pre-pandemic, RVH’s bed occupancy rate was 115 per cent — with all beds full most days
Barrie’s expanded RVH will feature a new, nine-storey tower, in-patient beds, operating rooms and an expanded emergency department.
“The north campus is where the bulk of the expansion will occur over the next decade,” Skot said Monday. “Our plan sees the prime faculty doubling in size, again, enabling this facility to focus on more acute, complex services and procedures. The north campus will be transformed into a larger, regional centre expanding almost every service we provide.”
The south campus would be built in three phases. In its first phase, the health hub would have ambulatory care, outpatient clinics and an urgent care centre. Phase two would add post-acute care, while phase three would be a full-service hospital with in-patient units, surgical suites and a 24/7 emergency department.
More to come.
