Hospitals in KW

[ijmorlan]

If we need the hospital so badly, why are we adding bogus requirements to the site search?

[ac3r]

Are you trying to imply we do not desperately need a new hospital? We have 4 in the region and they are not large enough for the 630'000+ people living here because they were built when we had not even 1/3rd that amount of people. Our current hospitals are ancient and the number of beds and resources is stretched to dangerous levels. They are falling apart and are incredibly inadequate for 2024. Whether or not the requirement of 50 acres is "bogus", if we had the choice between having a hospital built beside a Costco or something starting now versus a hospital that would take an additional 5 to 10 years to even start - never mind complete - then the choice is obvious given the utterly desperate state our local and provincial health care is in.

A modern hospital built in a central location is the ideal choice, but I think most people just want and need to have a contemporary advanced regional health care centre started and completed as soon as possible.

[tomh009]

I want to see it built in a great location like The Aud or R+T Park. But I'd also rather see a new hospital sooner than later, even if that means it's next to Costco. Keep in mind, they wouldn't be shutting down any of the existing hospitals anyways and they are (if I am remembering correctly) still going to provide emergency care, so the health care resources would only improve for our region regardless of where it is built.

No. St Mary's current location would be shut down. And Grand River would provide ambulatory care and an urgent care clinic. Emergency care would be only at the new hospital.

[tomh009]

Whether or not the requirement of 50 acres is "bogus", if we had the choice between having a hospital built beside a Costco or something starting now versus a hospital that would take an additional 5 to 10 years to even start - never mind complete - then the choice is obvious given the utterly desperate state our local and provincial health care is in.

Building a hospital on 20, or 30, or 40 acres does not take an additional 5 to 10 years to start. That was a self-imposed criterion that did nothing to speed up the process.

[Rainrider22]

Honestly we need a new hospital so damn bad I could deal with it not being that close to the core. It's not ideal, but sitting around arguing about parking lots when our hospital is seeing multiple code surges each month - meaning there are zero beds available - is putting actual people at risk. At the end of the day most people going to a hospital are going to drive. Nobody is taking a bike to their day surgery or chemotherapy appointment. If you need proof of this, just go to the hospital. Count the number of bikes you see locked up outside. It's very little.

I don't think there is some sort of conspiracy about this so people can "make a lot of money putting this out near Costco in Waterloo" either. It's more a case of having a limited amount of space to use that would not require a significant investment and alteration to become adequate. Like, sure, there's lots of space around the current hospital, but do you have any idea how much work it would be to navigate the headaches of land purchases, rezoning, demolitions and construction to use it? Or how much it would actually cost to tear The Aud down? Those sites are desierable, but will be costly to utilize which...when it comes to state run health care is something you need to worry about.

I want to see it built in a great location like The Aud or R+T Park. But I'd also rather see a new hospital sooner than later, even if that means it's next to Costco. Keep in mind, they wouldn't be shutting down any of the existing hospitals anyways and they are (if I am remembering correctly) still going to provide emergency care, so the health care resources would only improve for our region regardless of where it is built.

I'm involving myself in the discussion about the project, especially as a professional who does this stuff all the time and am crossing my fingers they make the best choice we can by putting it somewhere sensible, even if it becomes costly. But I'm also just wanting to see us finally build another hospital. We need it now more than ever, especially with the population boom of our region and the nation as a whole. Otherwise, we risk an ever deteriorating health care situation which - as the pandemic demonstrated - doesn't take much to begin fracturing it. 2020-2022 saw us doing incredibly desperate measures from the military building field hospitals in parking lots, sending in soldiers as nursing staff and tempting the government/voters with considering more privatization.

They are shutting down St Marys entirely... and Grand River will not have an emergency department.  This is what people keep missing... So in terms of an emergent situation, good luck.  Might be faster to go to Cambridge if you live in Kitchener.

[westwardloo]

Honestly I was excited to hear they were finally starting to look at a new hospital for the area. I do think its needed and will take probably 10-15 years to come to fruition so the earlier we start the better. But limiting our site locations to 50 acres is assine. There are plenty of large lots that are 20-25 acres that could serve the needs of a new hospital. I  have major concerns about the the location and feel strongly that the area will be better served by the existing hospitals, then a hospital across the street from a dump with no access to a hwy or the rapid transit system we spent billions on.

[ijmorlan]

Are you trying to imply we do not desperately need a new hospital?

No. I’m asking why we’re making it harder (and therefore likely to take longer and come to a worse decision) to build the hospital. Normally if something is urgent you do what you can to clear away obstacles, not create artificial ones for no good reason.

I don’t actually know enough about our hospitals to say that we definitely need a new hospital; for all I know, careful renovation of the existing ones could work. But it is entirely plausible that we need a new hospital; the city has grown a lot since the last new hospital, so it’s entirely believable that we need more locations and more space.

What is not believable is that there is any reason at all for the new hospital to be on 50 acres. It is also not believable that reducing the number of emergency departments is a reasonable thing to do. The new hospital should have a state-of-the-art emergency department, and all the existing ones should remain open to provide good coverage of the city.

In principle, I’m open to an expert explanation of why I’m wrong. But in practice, I know BS when I see it.

[SF22]

https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...19969.html

Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital have narrowed the search for the site for a new hospital in Kitchener-Waterloo and have begun negotiations for two separate properties.

This latest step narrows the selection down to two sites — a preferred one and an alternate — from three that were shortlisted last December, the hospitals announced Friday.

The public won’t learn the chosen site for the new, state-of-the-art hospital for several more months.

[KevinL]

I really don't like how this is all in secret. Looks like we won't know the final location until it's a done deal, and who knows what stupid location we might get stuck with?

[bravado]

Whew, close call… citizens almost learned what the government was doing! Think of the disaster that could have happened if things were open.

[westwardloo]

I really don't like how this is all in secret. Looks like we won't know the final location until it's a done deal, and who knows what stupid location we might get stuck with?

I agree, wonder if the freedom of information act would allow us to know the location?  At this point negotiating with the current land owners is a formality, if they don't come to the table with a reasonable offer the land can be expropriated at FMV. 

We all now the worst possible location will be chosen and we will have the pleasure of having a hospital beside the dump which is inconvenient to access for 80-90% of the residents in K-W.

[Joedelay Highhoe]

Is it safe to assume that Rockway is the ideal location for this? Hate to lose the golf course, but it does check all the boxes.

[panamaniac]

It's hard to believe that word won't leak out about the two sites, although the Record will play along and keep quiet.  Since the landowners presumably know why their land is of interest, it seems hard to justify the secrecy for reasons of "commercial confidentiality", unless they're concerned that a competing buyer will swoop in and jack up the price.  Seems more like an effort to dodge the inevitable public controversy that will likely come with any public announcement of the future site.

[ac3r]

I know the sites they're looking at. Not ideal, but meh... healthcare matters more than anything, so any new hospital will be good. I know this forum is obsessed with transit, bikes and all that stuff but a new hospital is needed ASAP.

Obviously I can't say anything as I'm not involved with this, I just have close relationships with people in healthcare but I'm sure it'll come out in due time.

[bravado]

If my hospital budget is interfering with my bike lane budget then I’m quite concerned because they’re very much not related