Waterloo Region needs new hospital
Twenty-six years ago, an Ontario government obsessed with budget cuts threatened to close one of Waterloo Region’s three hospitals. And 26 years ago, the people of this community banded together as never before, fought back and eventually made sure that didn’t happen. Now, more than a generation later and in a new century, the citizens of this region should step forward once again, not to save a hospital but to get a new one built.
The need is overwhelming, and anyone with eyes — especially anyone who’s recently required local hospital care — should be able to see why. One of Canada’s fastest growing communities, this region welcomes 10,000 newcomers each year and will see its population top 800,000 by 2036. Through no fault of their own, our three hospitals have failed to keep pace with that massive change.
Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital — both in Kitchener — operate at above capacity almost every day. St. Mary’s is the only hospital in the region — and the only regional cardiac care centre in Ontario — without its own MRI (magnetic-resonance imaging) machine, so its patients must use Grand River’s. As a result, the average wait for an MRI scan in this region is 82 days, nearly three times longer than the provincial target. While that in itself doesn’t justify a new hospital, it shows how shortchanged this region has been.
While other cities, many with smaller populations, have been gifted with shining new hospitals and new equipment in recent years, our hospitals have had to settle for endless expansions and disruptive renovations. But that’s just papered over the cracks. While Cambridge Memorial Hospital not long ago benefited from a new addition, the facilities at Kitchener’s two hospitals seem sadly dated — if not worn out.
Fortunately there are reasons to hope the status quo will go. First, there’s a provincial election going on. It’s the perfect time to impress upon every candidate in every one of the five local ridings that whoever forms the next government must put a new hospital for Waterloo Region high on its to-do list. Second, in late April the Ontario government gave $5 million to Grand River and St. Mary’s to develop a long-term plan to expand the region’s current bed capacity and acute care programs. One option being considered is a new hospital. In our view, it should be the only option.
Some readers might label that conclusion premature. Fair enough. Let the hospitals’ review and planning proceed. It’s hard to imagine that if that process is comprehensive and open-minded, it won’t wind up making a persuasive case for a new hospital. Start with the fact an increasing portion of the local population is elderly. The hospitals we’ve inherited already can’t accommodate the soaring demands for service. But the situation will only deteriorate further because the older people are, the more health care, including hospital care, they depend upon.
Then consider the local economy: The regional government and business community are both hoping for a continued influx of talented professionals and trades people. That’s where a lot of future municipal revenues and economic growth will come from. But some people in those highly desirable workforces might be disinclined to move here if they believe our local hospitals are in any way subpar. In addition, a new local hospital could become a world-class health-care hub for a large geographic swath of Ontario, not only Waterloo Region. Other smaller communities would surely benefit from a new hospital here. And so what’s at stake isn’t one community’s narrow self-interest. It’s about the broader public interest.
As residents wait for the completion of the hospital study, they should prepare to act. To a large degree, our health care destiny rests in our own hands. Starting in 1996, the people of Waterloo Region battled for two years to keep the doors of St. Mary’s open after the province appeared ready to close them. Citizens organized. They rallied. They protested at the Ontario legislature. A petition gathered more than 100,000 signatures. Not only did those activists keep St. Mary’s alive, they won new and enhanced health-care services for the entire region. That grassroots movement called itself “Save Our Hospital.” We can think of no better name for the one we need today than “Build Our New Hospital.”