'Help is on the way': Southlake celebrates $5M to advance plans for Newmarket hospital expansion

Ontario Nurses Union calls announcement 'drop in the bucket'

Yorkregion.com
April 11, 2022
Kim Zarzour

A $5 million investment in Southlake Regional Health Centre from the province is a sign that hope is on the horizon for the overcrowded Newmarket hospital, CEO Arden Krystal says.

The funding, announced April 8 by Deputy Premier and Health Minister Christine Elliott, aims to help Southlake with planning an expansion into a two-site hospital system serving York Region and Simcoe County.

Southlake has been working on a master plan -- unveiled last summer via website anewsouthlake.ca -- for a new, acute, in-patient care hospital to be built on an as-yet undisclosed site.

The current, 19-acre Davis Drive site would be redeveloped into an ambulatory care centre focused on seniors.

The new provincial funding focuses on the early stages of planning, which includes programming, operational and space requirements and assessing how the project can meet local need, Elliott said.

More than 100 new in-patient beds are planned to be added to Southlake, bringing the total number of beds to more than 600, she said.

“Today’s announcement brings more than just the promise of a state-of-the-art hospital and redevelopment of our current Davis Drive site. It brings hope,” Krystal said. “Hope for the nearly 6,000 staff, physicians, volunteers and learners who, despite working in an aging and undersized facility, provide leading edge care with compassion every day, and hope for patients, caregivers and families in the diverse communities we serve. They have experienced hallway health care for far too long.”

York-Simcoe MPP Caroline Mulroney called it a “major win” for the community and Newmarket Mayor John Taylor viewed it as a massive step forward.

“Southlake is our community’s most important asset,” he said. “My children were born here, I was born here and my family members in crisis were supported here and I’m an example of thousands and thousands and thousands of families who have relied on this hospital.”

Taylor said he hears from members of the community who appreciate the help and care they received from nurses and doctors, “but they also know they are overstressed and overstretched. Now they know help is on its way.”

The hospital expansion will be a phased redevelopment and it’s too soon to say when there will be shovels in the ground, “but this announcement certainly brings us one step closer,” said John Marshman, Southlake’s vice-president of capital, facilities and business development.

Marshman said the new site has not yet been selected but a key focus will be finding a location that is accessible and within close proximity to the communities it serves.

While Southlake’s expansion is expected to run into the billions of dollars, today’s announcement will pay for the hiring of staff to move forward on planning and is a sign the government is committed to making it happen, Southlake spokesperson Tyler Chalk said.

But not everyone was overjoyed with the announcement.

DJ Sanderson, a regional vice-president with the Ontario Nurses Association and RN at Southlake, called it a “token investment.”

“While we welcome any government investment in hospitals and health, the sad reality is, to call it a drop in the bucket is an understatement.”

For decades, successive governments have failed to help Southlake keep pace with the growth, he said.

The nurses union has raised concerns about issues of violence, staffing and workload at the hospital. An Independent Assessment Committee in November 2021 called on Southlake to hire more nurses.

“This government is so focused on buildings and beds ... There’s zero about adding the highly skilled health care workers needed to provide that care.”