University of Waterloo announced as new hospital site

WATERLOO — The University of Waterloo has been chosen as the site of the new state-of-the-art hospital being built for Waterloo Region in partnership with St. Mary’s General Hospital and Grand River Hospital. The Ontario government has invested $5 million to support the early planning and construction of the new hospital.

“The new site for the Waterloo Region hospital at the University of Waterloo will foster innovation, enhance research and better connect the growing region to convenient care closer to home,” said Premier Doug Ford.

The new hospital site is located on University of Waterloo lands, making it more convenient for people living in the area and surrounding communities to access. The new acute care hospital will help the region meet the needs of its growing population, making it faster and easier for people to connect to care, including:

• emergency services and critical care
• medical imaging, diagnostic services and enhanced surgical spaces
• maternal, newborn, and pediatric care
• modernized medical and surgical inpatient units
• cardiac clinics

Planning work between the hospitals and the University of Waterloo is under way, with the new hospital expected to open in 2035.

Through Your Health: A Plan For Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is making it easier for people of all ages to connect to the care they need, when they need it. This includes building new hospitals to expand services available to people in their community while reducing wait lists and wait times.

Students at the University of Waterloo will get a chance to use the hospital as a teaching tool and research hub, said president Vivek Goel (pictured).

For example, students from the architecture and engineering programs could be involved in the planning of the building, Goel explained. And it will be a chance to grow the pharmacy and optometry programs as well as the rehab science program, he said.

“We don’t have a medical school but what we’re looking at having is an innovation institute that works closely with the hospitals in taking new technologies and new ideas that come out of the university and applying them in the healthcare system,” Goel said.

Once the new hospital is built, initial plans are to repurpose Grand River’s midtown Kitchener-Waterloo campus into an ambulatory and urgent care centre. Plans are also in place to expand the Freeport campus for more rehabilitation services.

“Together with the province, the hospitals and the University of Waterloo have the opportunity to truly create a better health system for the Region and become an innovation campus of care. This is a major milestone on our journey in planning for a new hospital and we couldn’t have a better partner than the University of Waterloo,” said Ron Gagnon, President and CEO, Grand River Hospital.