Mayor Bevilacqua: Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital reaches substantial completion

Municipalinfonet.com
Sept. 22, 2020

The following statement was issued by Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua to mark the substantial completion of Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital:

“Today, we mark another important milestone in our healthcare journey; the construction of Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital is now substantially complete. We have long anticipated the transition from constructing the building to turning it into a fully functional hospital. Mackenzie Health is preparing to welcome patients when the hospital opens in 2021.

"Long before the world had ever heard of COVID-19, the City of Vaughan began preparing for a future with healthcare at the heart of city-building. The new $1.6 billion Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital will mark a series of firsts: Vaughan's first hospital, the first new hospital built in York Region in more than 30 years and Canada's first smart hospital. Its care delivery model embraces a connected health strategy that utilizes digital communications to provide quality healthcare both inside and outside the traditional hospital setting.

"Providing accessible, front-line care for all citizens is among our top priorities in Vaughan, and we continue to work in support of this mission every day. We are taking an innovative approach to 21st-century healthcare to meet our city's current needs and forecast for our growth.

"The City has a long-held funding strategy in place to help fund, build and complete construction of this state-of-the-art facility. My commitment to seeing it through is the reason why I chair the Mackenzie Health Foundation's $250-million Ultimate Campaign. I am proud to announce that more than $178 million has been raised toward reaching our goal. It is with great appreciation that I thank our generous donors for their unwavering support of this unprecedented city-building initiative.

"Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital is the first in the country to feature fully integrated smart technology systems and medical devices that can speak directly to one another to maximize patient care. The 1.2-million-square-foot facility will house up to 550 beds and have a full-service emergency room, surgical services and operating rooms, technologically advanced diagnostic imaging and specialized ambulatory clinics. It will generate more than 1,800 jobs in the community and has been built with a flexible design to allow for adaptation over time as new technologies and industry standards emerge.

"Hospitals are magnets for innovation, education, and investment that can lead to a community's transformation. These opportunities must be seized to maximize positive outcomes. This is certainly true for the lands surrounding the Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, called the Vaughan Healthcare Centre Precinct, a first-of-its-kind initiative in Canada.

"In October 2019, I signed a memorandum of understanding with York University, Mackenzie Health and ventureLAB to identify transformational opportunities to maximize the best use of the lands surrounding the Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital through a feasibility study. At its core, this partnership is about city-building, leveraging these partners and anchors to enable innovation, technology and economic opportunities from startups to multi-national enterprises in health-related sectors and creating a community healthcare experience.

"The first of the three-phase feasibility study is now complete. We are examining various options, including a new space for ventureLAB to expand and create another regional innovation hub in Vaughan and opportunities for collaboration between Mackenzie Health and York University in health sciences. The complete and final study is on track to be finished by the end of 2020. This site will connect people and spaces and bring together different sectors to become an epicentre of healthcare excellence across Canada. 

"The Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital will provide world-class healthcare to individuals and families in Vaughan and beyond. I look forward to the fall of 2021 when the hospital's doors will open, marking a new era of healthcare in our city."