With Southlake Regional Health Centre “bursting at the seams,” a new south campus near Bradford West Gwillimbury for Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) would provide the area with another option for emergency care.
That was the pitch from RVH President Janice Skot to town council April 17. RVH is considering other communities, such as Innisfil, for the south campus.
“Southlake is bursting at the seams,” said Mayor Rob Keffer at the meeting. “They are going to be at capacity… with growth in East Gwillimbury.”
The hospital’s goal, Skot said, is to identify a site for a future south campus and gradually build “the hospital of the future” that incorporates the latest in digital technology.
This process could take 10 to 20 years to develop fully, but the initial facility will be focused on outpatient and ambulatory care, she said.
RVH completed a major expansion in 2012, doubling its size and creating its regional cancer centre, but it maximized its 16-hectare property at the north end of Barrie and is now operating at 120 per cent, Skot said.
That is one reason why RVH is looking for a south campus site, which would bring ambulatory hospital care “closer to home” for residents of south Barrie, Innisfil and northern Bradford West Gwillimbury, she said.
Southlake in Newmarket will continue to be the regional health centre for Bradford West Gwillimbury residents, especially for cancer care and cardiovascular programs, Skot noted, but a south campus would provide another option for ambulatory and outpatient care.
Town council asked about the 20 hectares of land at Yonge Street and Line 6 in Innisfil that was donated to RVH by the Cortel Group in 2009.
“We have not decided it is exactly the right location for our South Campus. It is one of the options. ... We are looking for the right roads, the right GO trains, the right access,” Skot said.
“Health care is one of the most important things to Canadians.”
