WEST LINCOLN’S LONG FIGHT FOR A NEW HOSPITAL
2005
West Lincoln gets provincial approval to redevelop the aging hospital
2006
Hospital rebuild is delayed when the province creates Local Health Integration Networks to plan and fund health services. West Lincoln must now get LHIN approval.
2011
All approvals are in place and West Lincoln is awaiting the Minister of Health’s sign-off on the redevelopment.
2012
The $136-million plan is abruptly cancelled by the Liberal government. At the time, Niagara-West-Glanbrook was represented by opposition leader Tim Hudak and it was one of five hospital projects scrapped in Conservative ridings.
2012
The CEOs at that time of Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare suggest West Lincoln become a birth, ambulatory care and urgent care centre instead of remaining an acute care hospital.
2012
West Lincoln looks for a partner to help fight for redevelopment because it feels it will not have enough influence as a small independent hospital. Its first choice is Joseph Brant but the potential partnership is abandoned because the Burlington hospital is looking to have its own redevelopment approved.
2013
An amalgamation of West Lincoln and HHS is approved by both hospital boards.
2014
HHS CEO Rob MacIsaac asks the provincial government to redevelop West Lincoln as it officially becomes an HHS site after all formal paperwork is approved.
2016
HHS board approves a long-term term plan that includes redeveloping West Lincoln and making it a major day surgery centre with patients from Hamilton going to Grimsby for care.
February 2018
LHIN board endorses the HHS plan called Our Healthy Future. It is now awaiting provincial approval.
May 2018
Endoscopy services move from West Lincoln to McMaster University Medical Centre because the hospital no longer meets the requirements for equipment reprocessing. A third party architectural firm is brought in to determine what is needed to meet standards.
October 2018
Third party report says hospital needs $8.6 million in upgrades over 27 months. During that time, surgery and obstetrics would need to relocate to MUMC, Hamilton General and Juravinski Hospitals. Medical director and site leader Dr. Gary Benson resigns over the potential relocations and his interim replacement Dr. Matthew Noble Wohlgemut says without surgery the hospital will effectively have to close.