Editor’s note: This is fifth and final instalment in the Windsor Star’s contribution to Postmedia’s national series “How Canada Wins.” Over five weeks we chronicled our community’s place in the country, the promise of greater prosperity, and the blueprint to get there. See the series intro and links to other stories online.
With local multibillion-dollar mega-projects such as the Gordie Howe International Bridge and the NextStar Energy battery factory nearing completion this year, the next generational-impact project on the horizon for Windsor-Essex is construction of a new hospital.
Years in the planning, and having successfully navigated legal challenges to its location, the new Windsor/Essex acute care hospital will soon move to the next stage of actual construction. Local leaders say it will mark the start of an era that will redefine local health care and provide an array of new economic and academic opportunities.
As part of Postmedia’s How Canada Wins series, let’s take a look at the potential impacts of the community’s next big mega-project.
NEW HOSPITAL BY 2031?
It’ll be 10 years in July since the site was announced for the new hospital meant to replace the existing Metropolitan and Ouellette acute care hospital campuses, both over a century old.
The site at the intersection of Country Road 42 (also called Cabana Road East) and 9th Concession, was selected after 1,400 hours of research over 15 months looking at 20 properties using 32 different criteria.
Originally scheduled to be completed by 2025, the project is now expected to open its doors in 2031 after navigating years of legal challenges over the site selection process and choice.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
The pages of designs could start to be turned into reality by the end of this year.
“Construction will start late in 2025 or early next year,” said David Musyj. The former CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital is still closely involved in planning for the new hospital even after being appointed by the province last year as supervisor for the London Health Sciences Centre.
“The education centre, administrative area and parking garage are in the design phase,” he told the Star. “A RFP (request for proposals) has been put out for a construction manager, who will oversee the project and build it.”
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
The short answer is a lot, but the final bill has yet to be determined.
The original budget was set at $2 billion, but the long delay in getting to the construction phase has seen inflation push the cost of materials and labour to much higher levels.
“There’s no firm estimate on the cost yet, but it’s clearly going to be higher than what was previously stated,” Musyj said.
Musyj added the funding formula remains the same, with the province picking up 90 per cent of the final tab. The portion of funding the City of Windsor and Essex County were expected to cover was originally $200 million.
“The 10 per cent commitment, or $200 million from the city and county, we’re going to have to discuss that,” Musyj said. “We’ve had some preliminary talks but nothing formal.”
WHAT ARE WE GETTING?
The new hospital will be two million square feet in size, or about 700,000 square feet larger than the combined space of the current Metropolitan and Ouellette campuses.
The in-patient portion of the hospital will be in an eight-storey tower while out-patient services will be housed in a one-storey structure with a basement. Two of the floors in the tower will remain vacant when the new hospital opens in 2031 — there to accommodate future community growth.
“To meet future needs, those two floors will be built now so that we have the space available for the future,” said Musyj, noting its cheaper to build them now than add an expansion later.
The new hospital will also be composed of 100 per cent private rooms as opposed to the 20 per cent that exist now. The final number of beds hasn’t been determined yet.
“We have 660 beds currently, but the new hospital will definitely have more than that,” Musyj said. “The number of beds will be based on the growth projections showing a large population growth for Windsor-Essex.”
Musyj said a larger, modern hospital serving a much larger population will provide the economies of scale and demand for an increase in services. It will also centralize all programs, including the cancer clinic, at the new site.
“The new acute care hospital will be a state-of-the-art facility, enhancing patient care with the latest medical technology and treatment approaches,” Musyj said.
“It will improve access to specialized services so that residents don’t have to leave the region for advanced care.”
Musyj said the existing Ouellette campus will remain operational for out-patient services and a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week emergency department.
The plan for the Met campus has yet to be decided. The existing cancer clinic located there could possibly be used as a clinical space.
“Windsor Regional will still control the property, but we’ll consult with the city on best uses to fit into the neighbourhood,” Musyj said.
Musyj added the hospital is already drawing interest from out-of-town physicians and other specialized health care providers who want to be involved in the planning of the project’s services.
Aside from drawing more talent and increasing service options, the new hospital also solves some current logistical challenges.
“People think the new hospital is replacing two hospitals — it’s not,” Musyj said. “The Metropolitan and Ouellette campuses are one hospital in two different spots.
“That means we have to transfer 1,000 patients annually between the two sites. That’s hard on the patients and wastes time for physicians moving between the campuses.
“The most exciting thing is getting out of a 100-year-old facility and having the staff all under one roof,” Musyj said.
“It’s a maze and a puzzle to navigate and we spend millions each year on maintenance. It also forces patients to walk long distances to get to services.
“Everything will be together and very easy to access at the new hospital for patients.”
NEW HOSPITAL — NEW RESEARCH CENTRE
The new hospital will bring new economic opportunities to expand the local health care sector.
“It will elevate Windsor-Essex as a leading health and research centre, improving quality of life and attracting top talent,” Musyj said.
“By creating a world-class health care ecosystem, we are ensuring that Canada wins, and Windsor-Essex thrives for generations to come.”
Musyj said it also allows for an expansion of relationships with the University of Windsor and St. Clair College.
Among those opportunities will be an increase in the number of positions at the Windsor campus of the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. The new hospital will offer new on-site learning spaces for students as well as an increase in the number of internship placements.
“The University of Windsor and St. Clair College will have a direct role in training the next generation of health care professionals, including doctors, nurses and allied health workers,” Musyj said.
“The hospital will serve as a training ground for students, offering clinical placements, research opportunities and hands-on learning.
“This partnership will also support health technology programs, fostering innovation and preparing students for careers in digital health, AI-driven diagnostics and medical robotics.”
BIG LOCAL ECONOMIC IMPACT
With billions of dollars of new investment being added to the local economy, the ripple effects will be far-reaching.
Musyj isn’t sure yet how much more staffing the new hospital will require.
“We’ll have an additional 700,000 square feet of space, so we’ll need a lot more cleaning people to start with,” Musyj said.
Currently there are over 4,300 employees, 550 professional staff, 400 volunteers, and more than 150 medical school students and resident physicians at Windsor Regional.
“The new facility will create thousands of construction and skilled trade jobs over the next decade,” Musyj said.
“It will expand employment in nursing, administration, IT, supply chain, and facilities management, benefiting a wide range of workers.”
Musyj added he expects the investment will stimulate growth in the local health care sector, benefitting pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device manufacturing companies.
The health care sector is one of his local economic development agency’s key targets for both external attraction and internal expansion, said Joe Goncalves, Invest WindsorEssex vice-president for investment attraction and strategic initiatives.
“From a foreign direct investment point of view, one of the main pillars for diversification is focusing on the pharmaceutical, medical device health care sector,” Goncalves told the Star. “These types of mega-projects attract that type of investment.
“We have been building on that corridor from Michigan through Windsor all the way up to London. We’re going to really be positioning ourselves to attract some of those types of companies, especially in pharmaceutical, pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices.”
Goncalves said the new hospital’s presence will also create all kinds of commercial, restaurant, retails and medical office development on the Sandwich South lands, especially with the industrial development also taking place across the road on the Windsor Airport lands.
“It will spur the development of its own little town,” Goncalves said.
Goncalves said Invest WindsorEssex is planning to dedicate a person to focus on the health care sector and will be attending the large industry trade shows to pitch the local area as a potential home.