Construction is officially underway on a new emergency department at Scarborough Health Network's Centenary Hospital, funded by a provincial investment of more than $82 million.
The project, announced Aug. 4, will add more than 36,000 square feet of emergency care space to the Ellesmere Road hospital, replacing aging infrastructure and expanding capacity for Scarborough's growing population.
According to a Scarborough Health Network news release, the expanded department will reduce wait times, ease congestion and improve patient and staff flow. SHN's three emergency departments currently handle more than 200,000 patient visits each year.
Our government is making historic investments to protect Ontario's health-care system, ensuring that more people in Scarborough can connect to the care they need, where and when they need it
That statement came from Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, who said construction on the new emergency department is "an important step forward in connecting more people and their families in Scarborough to the world-class emergency care they need and deserve, for generations to come."
The project is expected to support approximately 400 jobs in the region, including more than 300 in construction. It forms part of the province's plan to invest $64 billion in more than 50 major hospital projects across Ontario over the next 10 years.
New name, new dialysis stations
The facility will be known as the Northpine Emergency Department. SHN President and CEO David Graham said the department "will help us meet growing demand with an innovative model of care designed to improve the patient experience and support our health-care teams."
"We are grateful to the Government of Ontario for its partnership in helping us build for the future," Graham said in the news release.
Dialysis expansion complete
The province has also invested nearly $15 million to add 27 new hemodialysis stations across SHN, including 21 at Centenary Hospital. All of the new stations are now fully operational, expanding the hospital network's Regional Nephrology Program and addressing high demand for dialysis services in the area.
Local MPPs welcomed the announcement. Vijay Thanigasalam, MPP for Scarborough—Rouge Park, said the start of construction "will connect local residents to expanded, convenient care closer to home."
Aris Babikian, MPP for Scarborough—Agincourt, said the project builds on the recent renovation of SHN's Birchmount Hospital emergency department and a previously announced $1 billion hospital expansion, calling it "another important step our government is taking to improve access to high-quality health care in Scarborough."
Dr. Raymond Cho, MPP for Scarborough North, said the investment will provide the additional capacity SHN needs "to reduce congestion, improve patient and staff flow and modernize aging infrastructure" across the network's three hospital sites.
The province says the work falls under its health-care plan aimed at making it faster and easier for people of all ages to connect to care where and when they need it.
