Feel better: 8 hospital projects improving care for Canadians

Canada’s healthcare demand is increasing.

According to data released from the Canadian Institute for Health Information earlier this year, in 2021–2022, there were almost 2.9 million acute inpatient hospitalizations in Canada, up from 2.7 million visits in 2020–2021, the first year of the pandemic. After adjusting for differences in age, sex and population growth, the hospitalization rate was 6,983 per 100,000 population.

With more demand for care, comes a bigger need for hospital facilities. Here are a few major hospital projects creating new facilities or updating older ones.

St. Paul’s Hospital

Something massive is rising out of Vancouver’s False Creek Flats neighbourhood. The $2 billion new St. Paul’s Hospital aims to be an internationally renowned, full-service, acute-care hospital and integrated health campus. It will have capacity for up to 548 beds, which includes 115 net new beds. The site will be the home of several leading provincial programs and referral centres, including for heart and lung care, renal, eating disorders and specialty surgeries and transplants. PCL was awarded the design-build contract for the facility in 2021. It is scheduled to open in 2027. The current St. Paul’s Hospital first opened in the 1800s.

Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital

The new Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital project, led by EllisDon and PCL Healthcare Partners, is a full replacement of the existing hospital. At 22 storeys, it will almost triple the size of the current hospital in Mississauga, Ont. and will be approximately 2.8 million square feet. It will have over 950 beds, 23 operating rooms and a new emergency department. The new hospital will also include advanced diagnostic imaging facilities and a new pharmacy and clinical laboratory. Once complete, it will be the largest hospital in the country. Officials say it will be roughly a decade before the project is completed. 

Surrey Hospital 

Shovels are in the ground for a second hospital in Surrey and new cancer centre. The groundbreaking comes despite massive cost escalations for the project due to inflation, supply-chain disruptions and labour shortages. Officials stated that despite high costs, the project is too critical to delay any longer. Construction of the new hospital and cancer centre is anticipated to be complete in 2029 and open in 2030. The total cost of the project is anticipated to be $2.88 billion. It is being built through a design-build Agreement with EllisDon Design Build Inc.

Ottawa Hospital’s New Campus Development project

Last March, the Government of Ontario announced the approval of The Ottawa Hospital’s (TOH) New Campus Development project, with a commitment to fund more than $2 billion in construction costs.  The project is now into the implementation stage and when it opens in 2028, the new campus will be the largest and most modern teaching and research hospital in Canada. Construction is expected to begin next year with completion scheduled for 2028. 

Cariboo Hospital redevelopment

Earlier this year, Interior Health signed a contract for the construction of the Cariboo Memorial Hospital redevelopment project in Williams Lake, B.C. with its preferred proponent, Graham Design Builders LP. The $366 million project includes an addition to the hospital as well as renovations. The addition will be three storeys, plus a basement, and approximately 9,300 square metres. The redevelopment will add 25 in-patient beds. Construction will happen in two phases. Phase 1, which includes the addition, will begin in spring 2023 and is expected to finish in fall 2026. Phase 2, which includes renovations to the existing hospital, will begin in fall 2026 and is scheduled to be complete in early 2029.

Burnaby Hospital expansion

A business plan has been approved for a new inpatient tower and integrated cancer centre, as part of $1.7 billion Phase 2 of the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment. The proposed 12-storey inpatient tower is expected to include 160 private rooms. The tower will also include general medicine, medical oncology, cardiac telemetry and intensive care and high-acuity units. Additionally, a new medical-imaging department, featuring space for two CT scanners, a spiritual care suite, public spaces and more. The new tower will also be home to a new BC Cancer Centre, which will include 54 ambulatory care rooms, 31 chemotherapy chairs, space for five linear accelerators, space for two PET/CT scanners, an oncology pharmacy, and clinical trials and research space.

Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital modernization

Quebec has announced plans to move forward with the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital modernization project. Health Minister Christian Dubé told reporters this month that the project should take eight to 10 years to complete and could cost as much as $4 billion. The project involves renovating and expanding multiple sections of the 1950s building and bumping up the number of beds to 720.

South Niagara Hospital

Earlier this year, crews broke ground on the 1.3-million-square-foot South Niagara Hospital in Ontario.  The 12-storey structure will add more health capacity for the region, including 469 single patient bedrooms, eight operating suites, 42 hemodialysis stations, and two MRI machines. The hospital aspires to become the first WELL-certified hospital in Canada, with design features prioritizing the health and well-being of hospital users. EllisDon Infrastructure Healthcare secured the $3.6-billion contract for designing, building, financing, and maintaining the hospital back in February.  Excavation is scheduled to commence by the end of the summer, and the entire construction process is estimated to take five years, with the hospital slated to officially open its doors in the summer of 2028.