GREATER BARRIE REQUIRES RVH TWICE AS BIG, SAYS HOSPITAL REPORT

BARRIE — Greater Barrie’s “exploding population” means Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s (RVH) needs to double in size — most of it by 2023 — to meet area healthcare needs, says a new report.

A long-range planning exercise begun last year and released Thursday, says technical experts tell health officials it needs to redevelopment and expand the Georgian Drive health centre — its booming north city hospital campus along Hwy. 400 at Duckworth Street — as well as build a new south campus in Innisfil or south Barrie.

“We know projections suggest the population of Barrie, Innisfil and Springwater will double by 2041 with over 170,000 new residents”, said RVH president and CEO Janice Skot in a release this afternoon.

“To keep pace with that growth, another building needs to be added to the north campus. Most of that expansion needs to happen within the next five years.”

She said that in the past year RVH has consulted significantly with staff, physicians, patients, families and residents throughout the region, with more than “14,000 engagement opportunities to-date.”

With a Barrie regional population boom expected to hit 170,000 people by 2041, an report for RVH says it needs to double to two sites, starting in the next five years with expansion at the existing north campus along Hwy. 401.

That broad consultation, she said, has enabled architects to develop several options for redevelopment, which include construction of a large, inpatient tower on the current 40-acre site.

RVH is asking residents to weigh in on how space can be improved through expansion of the north campus.

The survey is open until May 9 and can be accessed on the rvhplanourfuture.ca website.

Their master plan, which outlines how RVH’s north campus needs to expand for the future, will be submitted to government for consideration in the fall of 2019.

Meanwhile, work is being done to select a site for the south campus.

Using clear criteria, the site selection committee has narrowed its search from more than 225 square-kilometers to 47 sites, and further refined the list to nine potential sites. Expert consultants continue a very comprehensive analysis in order to develop a short-list of top-ranked sites that RVH’s board of directors will consider.

RVH is pursuing a graduated plan for the south campus, which includes an ambulatory care health hub within ten years and a full-service, 500,000 square-foot hospital with an emergency department and inpatient beds in 20 years.

Both the north and south campus are being planned with patient and family needs and safety at the forefront, concludes the release.