Ontario Premier Doug Ford made a visit to Niagara Falls last week, where the government market a “significant milestone” in the construction of Niagara Health’s new South Niagara Hospital, with the final structural beam being raised. Ford was on site to highlight the new beds and expanded acute care that will be available for local residents when the project is completed.
All told, the province plans to invest $3.2 billion in the new 12-story hospital. According to the Ford government, the new hospital will include “consolidated and expanded acute care services, updated infrastructure with high-tech facilities and ensure increased connected care in the region.” The province expects the new hospital to open in the summer of 2028.
“With more than 150 additional beds, a 24/7 emergency department and experts across the spectrum of care needs, the South Niagara Hospital will provide convenient, world-class health care to residents in Niagara Falls and across the region,” said Ford. “Our government will continue to deliver on our historic hospital and primary care expansions, so families have reliable access to quality health-care services, no matter where they live.”
The “more than 150 additional beds” Ford was referring to is the fact that the new hospital will have 469 beds, which is 156 more than the combined total number of beds in Niagara Health’s Port Colborne, Ford Erie, and Niagara Falls campuses, which the new hospital is intended to replace. In addition to a 24/7 emergency department, there will also be expanded diagnostic, surgical, and therapeutic services, as well as ambulatory services and complex continuing care inpatient services. The new hospital will also add new Centres of Excellence that specialize in stroke, complex care, geriatric care and wellness in aging.
“Today’s milestone brings the province one step flosser to delivering on its goal to connect more families in the Niagara Region to convenient, high-quality care close to home,” said Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones. “The new South Niagara Hospital will significantly increase capacity to meet the needs of the region’s growing population, ensuring Niagara communities can connect to the care they need, right in their own community for generations to come.”
Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff offered a statement on the occasion as well.
“Niagara is entering a new chapter in health care,” said Oosterhoff. “With a newly rebuilt West Lincoln Memorial Hospital, ongoing construction of the South Niagara Hospital and a planning grant in place for the refurbishment of the Welland Hospital, we are building a strong, more connected hospital system that meets the needs of patients across the region.”
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
