The Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH) has reached a major milestone in its journey to build a new state of the art hospital with the submission of its Functional Program to the Ministry of Health.
The recent Stage 1.3 planning submission is the culmination of 18 months of collaborative work from CGMH patients, employees, physicians and volunteers who have helped to shape the future services and space of the new hospital to meet the fast-growing needs of the South Georgian Bay region.
The submission was guided by leading experts in hospital functional programming, engineering and architecture, with oversight from CGMH’s Hospital Development Committee and Board of Directors.
“We are extremely proud of the work that our Team has put into this submission, including the collaborative approach we have taken to ensure that the voices of the patient, provider and our health care partners were included in this very important planning stage for our new hospital,” says Michael Lacroix, CGMH President and CEO.
Highlights of the Stage 1.3 submission include:
- 100% private rooms
- expansion of medical and surgical bed capacity
- new inpatient rehabilitation beds
- new inpatient mental health beds
- a simulation training centre, focused on interprofessional learning
- proposed greenfield construction on a donated 30-acre site at Poplar Sideroad
As part of the submission, a detailed siting analysis was performed to determine the best possible location and building option for the new hospital. Based on this analysis, CGMH concluded that building the new hospital on a greenfield site would cost less, have a shorter construction time, and allow for future growth and expansion when compared to the option of building a new hospital on the existing 12.6-acre site.
The Ministry of Health is now reviewing CGMH’s submission, and it is anticipated that initial feedback from the Ministry will be provided over the next few weeks. The Hospital looks forward to working with the Ministry to ensure the final approved plan aligns with provincial expectations and standards for contemporary and efficient hospital care.
“Building a modern hospital to meet the needs of our fast-growing region is one of our top priorities to ensure a solid foundation for the future. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, we need to make smart investments to meet our communities’ current and future needs for high quality care, closer to home,” says Barry Goodwin, CGMH Board Chair.
The Stage 1.3 submission completes the first of three planning stages outlined in the Ministry of Health’s Capital Planning process. Planning in the next phase (Stage 2) becomes more detailed, with teams further developing plans and initiating the tendering process to select a vendor to complete the detailed plans and build the new hospital.
As CGMH continues through the remaining stages of development, the Hospital will continue to work closely with its local municipalities whose ongoing support has been appreciated and will prove to be critical in the success of the project.
In its March 2023 Market Update, Infrastructure Ontario reaffirmed its timeline for CGMH’s project that will see the final tendering for construction of the new hospital beginning in 2026. If all goes to schedule, construction of the new hospital will begin in 2027.
To learn more about the project and subscribe to the email list for updates, please visit www.yourfuturehospital.com.