BARRIE - Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, joined hospital officials, community members and health care partners today to celebrate the official opening of the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre's new addition.
The expansion of Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre will help meet the needs of a growing population and ensure timely access to services. The project nearly doubles the size of the existing hospital, adding more than 400,000 square feet of new space. The addition also houses the new Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre, which will allow cancer patients throughout Simcoe County and the District of Muskoka to get treatments closer to home.
Over the coming weeks, patients and staff will begin moving into the new space. First to open will be a new 32-bed respiratory unit and an expanded emergency department, then the imaging department, and finally the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre in early summer. Renovations to the existing hospital continue, including the addition of two new operating suites which are expected to be completed by fall 2013.
Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are working with Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre to expand and renovate the hospital, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable. There were more than 400 workers on site daily at the peak of construction, with more than 80 per cent of the workers coming from the local region.
Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to delivering some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects on time and on budget.
It also manages one of the largest real estate portfolios in Canada, offers real estate services, such as asset management and property and land management, and provides the public sector and not-for-profit organizations with long-term financing to renew public infrastructure.
Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca or www.rvh.on.ca for more information.
QUOTES:
“Congratulations to everyone at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre for reaching this important and exciting milestone. The expansion will improve access to high quality care and provide vital health services in the right place at the right time for the people of Barrie, Simcoe County and the District of Muskoka for many years to come.”
- Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
“After more than a decade of planning, fundraising and construction the region's dream is areality. The expansion of RVH will provide Simcoe Muskoka residents with enhancedservices and timely access to healthcare closer to home. Our provincial government - theMinistry of Health and Long-Term Care, along with our colleagues at InfrastructureOntario -- has demonstrated its outstanding commitment to safe, quality healthcare for ourregion's residents.”
- Janice Skot, President and CEO of Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre
Contacts:
Jennifer Sclisizzi
Infrastructure Ontario
416-325-7409
Suzanne Legue
Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre
705-728-9090 extension 41600