The new hospital coming to Kitchener and Waterloo will be built on the grounds of the David Johnston Research + Technology Park at the University of Waterloo.
A release from the province says that the hospital will be built on the university west of Bearinger Road and Hagey Boulevard in Waterloo.
Kitchener’s two hospitals, Grand River and St. Mary’s General, have been developing plans for a new hospital in Waterloo Region for a couple of years now.
“We are thrilled that the University of Waterloo will be the future home to Waterloo Region’s new hospital,” St. Mary’s General Hospital president Mark Fam stated.
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“Not only does the location make great sense in terms of patient accessibility, it also allows our organizations to deepen our relationship even further for the benefit of the communities we serve.”
The hospitals say they will work with the University of Waterloo on plans for the hospital, which will take five years. They say it will take another five years before shovels hit the ground.
In the spring of 2022, the province gave the two hospitals $5 million to begin planning for a third hospital in the area as the rapidly-expanding region is expected to grow to at least a million people over the next 25 years.
The new hospital will feature emergency services and will result in a number of other changes to area hospitals.
With the addition of a new hospital, Grand River Hospital would also become an ambulatory and urgent care centre while the rehabilitation capabilities of the Freeport Campus would also increase.
St Mary’s General Hospital would no longer offer acute care services as part of the plan.
Global News reached out to a spokesperson for the hospitals to determine if this includes emergency care.
Grand River and St. Mary’s General hospitals recently announced that they would merge in 2025, although they are still working on a name.