Redevelopment and Campus Improvement

As part of our strategic plan, our community and our people told us how important our facilities are in the delivery of care. For patients, well-designed spaces support their comfort and recovery.

Construction projects, both minor and major, are taking place across the Health Centre at all times in an effort to modernize our facilities and create healing environments that meet the needs of our patients.

In the past year alone we have

• Invested $12-million in redevelopment
• Completed 18 projects
• Renovated 81,000 sq. ft.

More about our exciting new projects coming soon.

These projects are part of our long-term vision to renew our hospital campus. Click here to learn about our master plan.

Melnyk entrance roundabout under construction

As we prepare to start construction on our new G.H. Wood Foundation Breast Screening Centre of Excellence and Palliative Care Clinic, we are closing part of the roundabout outside our Melnyk entrance. In an effort to reduce disturbances to patient care areas in the hospital, this area will be used by construction crews during the renovation to gain access to the renovation areas.

What does this mean for me?
This will not impact access to the Health Centre – all fire doors in that area will still be accessible, and cars will still be able to drive up to the door for patient pick-up/drop-off. However, cars and taxi’s will not be able to wait in the area as this will cause congestion due to the smaller space.

We anticipate this closure will be in place until early 2019 as these significant projects are built.

Elevator Work Underway

In an effort to improve the efficiency and operation of the elevators in the Morrow wing, a modernization project is scheduled to begin on Monday, November 27. To facilitate this work, one elevator in the Morrow wing will be down at a time for a period of 12 weeks. We are starting this work with elevator #11, which is highlighted on the drawing above. Signs will be going up next week to inform our patients and visitors about this work, and our volunteers have been engaged to spread the word.

St. Joe’s Master Plan

As part of the consultations for our strategic plan, our community and our people told us how important our facilities are in the delivery of care. For patients, well-designed spaces support their comfort, privacy and recovery. For our people they enhance their ability to deliver high-quality care.

With this input we prepared a master plan to guide the redevelopment of our campus. It’s a long term plan that combines new construction and renovation to create modern clinical spaces that meet the current and future needs of our community.

What are the changes being proposed in the master plan?

The plan envisions a combination of new construction and renovations including a new Emergency Department, Ambulatory Care Clinics and ‘state of the art’ inpatient units are included in the plan. These new facilities will provide larger spaces, relieving critical pressure we are facing due to the higher numbers of patients who come through our doors. This will help reduce wait times and provide a better experience for patients. They will also accommodate future growth in our population and flexibility to adapt the services we provide. The plan also addresses better vehicle and pedestrian access and wayfinding, and additional parking spaces.

When will you start implementing the plan?

Hospital redevelopment is a long process. Each year, the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care provides hospitals with funding for maintenance (electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling etc). However, funding for significant capital projects, such as a master plan, occur over years of planning and approvals. The provincial government considers a broad range of factors including their strategic priorities, resources available and facility conditions.

The first step in the submission process is underway with the Toronto Central LHIN and Ministry of Health and Long-term Care. We have received preliminary endorsement to continue planning for subsequent reviews and approvals. Throughout the process there is engagement with local health and service organizations, community partners, political leaders, patients and families, community members, and staff and physicians.  This engagement includes conversations and information sessions, focus groups, patient-centered working groups, events, and online forums. The input from our stakeholders is used along with population growth and other data to inform the development of our master plan.

How can I provide input on the plan?

The next stage in the ministry’s approval process is to plan the first phase of redevelopment. Once we receive approval to move to this stage and we begin detailed planning and design for a new building, we will consultant again with our key stakeholders including patients, our people, neighbours and community members.

So why are you raising funds with the Promise Campaign for hospital redevelopment now?

We need to make continual investments and improvements to meet our current patient needs and growth before new buildings can be constructed. Renovations are enabling us to introduce new services to improve what we currently do, and ensure our existing clinical spaces in our older buildings are continually improved to  current safety and health care design standards. The renovations we plan as part of the Promise Campaign are developed with the long term vision of the master plan, to ensure we maximize the value of all our current investments. The Promise Campaign and the support of our community are helping us to modernize key areas across the health centre in advance of Ministry approval of our master plan.