Kitchener hospitals name pointman for new hospital project

Kitchener’s two hospitals have found the man who they are expecting to be pointman as they look to build a third hospital in the area.

Grand River and St. Mary’s General hospitals have announced that Cliff Harvey has been hired as Joint VP Redevelopment, which will place him in charge of the project.

The hospitals say that Harvey has experience working on new hospital developments having worked as a senior architect for the province and as a hospital vice-president.

“He brings an expertise that will significantly advance our shared hospital redevelopment efforts, and skills well-deserved by our community,” SMGH president Mark Fam stated.

“Cliff’s human-focused approach to projects seeks active engagement from all stakeholders, and his keen understanding of current and emerging government priorities for hospital redevelopment will help set this project up for success.”

GRH president Ron Gagnon echoed those sentiments, while praising Harvey’s project management style.

In the spring of 2022, the province gave the two hospitals $5 million to begin planning for a third hospital in the area as the rapidly-expanding region is expected to grow by a third over the next 20 years.

A couple of months later, GRH and SMGH said they had submitted a proposal to the Ontario government for the new hospital.

In addition to building a new hospital, they are also looking to turn Grand River Hospital into an ambulatory and urgent care centre while also increasing the rehabilitation capabilities of the Freeport Campus.

In July, the hospitals announced that they were expecting to have a site for the new hospital chosen by March of 2024.