When new hospital opens in Waterloo, Ont., another will close next door in Kitchener

For a mates of years now, plans person been underway to build a caller infirmary successful Waterloo Region.

With nan region expected to turn to 1 cardinal complete nan adjacent 30 years, nan 2 Kitchener hospitals, Grand River and St Mary’s General, were provided pinch $5 cardinal to motorboat plans for a caller infirmary successful nan area.

While nan area will turn by hundreds of thousands complete nan coming decades, nan number of hospitals successful nan area will stay nan same.

A spokesperson for nan hospitals told Global News that erstwhile nan caller infirmary opens successful Waterloo, St. Mary’s General Hospital successful Kitchener will beryllium shuttered.

“This will not hap until nan caller assemblage infirmary tract opens. At that time, each infirmary services will cease astatine St. Mary’s Queen’s Blvd. location,” they told Global News successful an email.

“St. Joseph’s Health System, of which St. Mary’s is simply a part, will beryllium engaging pinch Waterloo Region communities to find some nan early of this tract and nan early of Catholic wellness attraction successful Waterloo Region.”

A fewer months ago, nan 2 Kitchener hospitals announced they would beryllium merging into 1 successful an effort to make it easier for patients to entree care.

The brace person been manus successful manus for decades and person besides been moving connected nan plans for a caller infirmary for a mates of years.

On Monday, it was announced that nan caller infirmary would beryllium located connected grounds owned by nan University of Waterloo westbound of Bearinger Road and Hagey Boulevard.

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The infirmary spokesperson said nan caller infirmary would summation nan number of beds successful nan area beyond what is presently offered by nan 2 hospitals arsenic good arsenic nan Freeport field of GRH successful Kitchener. This summation would beryllium successful spite of nan closure of SMGH.

However, it will beryllium a decade earlier nan caller infirmary opens and SMGH closes arsenic nan hospitals opportunity it will beryllium 5 years of readying and 5 years of construction.

The spokesperson told Global News nan readying clip is rounded up and includes much than conscionable nan plans to build nan infirmary arsenic it besides accounts for procurement and tendering.

When nan caller infirmary does unfastened its doors, it will bring astir a number of different changes arsenic good arsenic Grand River Hospital will go an ambulatory and urgent attraction centre, while nan Freeport Campus is expected to connection accrued rehabilitation services and emergency care.