The Ontario government says it is giving $5 million to Kitchener’s two hospitals, Grand River and St. Mary’s General, to develop a plan for the future.
The province says the money is to be used to redevelop the hospitals in the hopes of adding more hospital beds and expanding acute care programs.
“This investment will connect health care in the region and ensure the hospitals will be able to meet the growing health care needs of families in the community,” Health Minister Christine Elliott stated.
A release from the hospitals says they are overcrowded and they are hoping that the plan to evaluate future needs will help to prevent things from getting worse going forward as the region is one of the fast-growing areas of the province.
The province says that among the options under consideration would be building a new hospital as well as renovations or expansion to the existing ones.
The hospitals say they will be launching a website in the coming days to share information about the planning process as well as to get input from area residents.
The province has also earmarked another $1 million to Grand River Hospital to evaluate intraoperative surgical technology as used in hip replacement surgery.