COLLINGWOOD GETS $95.5 MILLION TO BUILD A NEW 132-BED REPLACEMENT HOSPITAL, PROVINCE ANNOUNCES
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
COLLINGWOOD — As Muskoka grapples with a hospitals divide, the province said today it is investing up to $95.5 million to build a new replacement Collingwood General and Marine Hospital to serve Collingwood and South Georgian Bay with “care close to home.”
It will include up to 132 new beds with 98 total inpatient beds and an additional 34 beds to meet the community’s future needs.
“Our government is making historic investments in Ontario’s hospitals to ensure people of all ages can access the care they need, where and when they need it,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.
This new funding is in addition to the more than $15.5 million investment previously provided. That amount is similar to the amount Muskoka received for its planning process.
Collingwood and Muskoka are often compared for their size and as tourism and retirement community destinations.
No date has been set for construction or opening.
Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) has a similar submission to the Ministry of Health for two hospitals in south Muskoka and Huntsville some estimates say could amount to a high as $1.3 billion and would open in about 2032.
Detailed planning for a brand-new replacement hospital on a new site will create a larger, state-of-the-art space to expand services and ensure the hospital can continue to meet the needs of the rapidly growing community into the future, said Thursday’s release.
“Delivering world-class health care to all Ontarians across our great province is a top priority for our government,” said Simcoe-Grey MPP Brian Saunderson. “This historic investment in the community of Collingwood and South Georgian Bay will make a much-needed state-of-the-art hospital a reality that will transform health care for generations of families from the birth of a child to palliative care and everything in between.”
Once opened, this new hospital will include:
- Up to 132 new beds with 98 total inpatient beds and an additional 34 beds to meet the community’s future needs
- Enhanced infection prevention and control measures to ensure the health and safety of all patients
- Expanded access to key services, including intensive care, emergency, diagnostic imaging and operating suites
The Ministry of Health says it will work with Collingwood General and Marine Hospital to complete detailed planning and design for this project. A construction schedule will be confirmed once future planning is complete and the project is tendered and awarded.
Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is expanding and modernizing Ontario’s hospitals, making it easier and faster for people of all ages to connect to the care they need, closer to home.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Collingwood General and Marine Hospital is an 84-bed facility serving more than 74,000 residents and 3.5 million annual visitors to the communities of Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, Clearview and the Blue Mountains.
- Over the next 10 years, Ontario’s investments will lead to nearly $50 billion in health infrastructure across the province, building 3,000 new beds in addition to over 3,500 critical care, acute and post-acute beds our government has added since 2020.
- The Ontario government is investing more than $228 million this year to support critical infrastructure upgrades and repairs at 129 hospitals and 58 community health care facilities across the province, a 10 per cent increase from last year. This includes over $827,000 to Collingwood General and Marine Hospital this year.
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