Grand River, St. Mary’s hospitals look at merging
Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital are proposing to merge into a single new hospital corporation.
If approved by their respective boards and the Ontario Ministry of Health, transition to the new organization is expected to take about one year, with the launch anticipated in spring 2025.
A decision on the name of the new hospital will be made later, after community consultation.
The proposed new organization would operate existing hospital sites and services, while continuing to move ahead with plans to redevelop Grand River, Freeport and St. Mary’s hospitals and build a new facility of almost 1,000 beds, at a site yet to be disclosed.
That new hospital, if approved, would likely open in 2035.
The hospital boards independently voted in favour of creating a new, single hospital organization which would replace both current hospital organizations. The board of directors at St. Joseph’s Health System Corporation, of which St. Mary’s is a division, also supports the change.
“One hospital working together is a bigger voice, will be able to make decisions in a more streamlined manner, and hopefully be able to have more services available in our community,” said Sandra Hanmer, chair of the board at Grand River Hospital, in an interview.
The hospitals will now undertake a due diligence process regarding the details of the planned, voluntary merger in consultation with the Ontario Ministry of Health.
“While we initially intended to maintain separate governance structures, it has become increasingly clear that leveraging our combined strengths as a single organization will put us in the best position to navigate the changing health care landscape,” said St. Mary’s board chair Tim Rollins in a news release.
“This decision is about meeting the needs of our rapidly growing communities to provide better care today, and for generations to come,” Hanmer said. “This is an evolution of our partnership as we work together to build our future hospital system.”
The two hospitals already have a joint 690-person medical staff, shared clinical support services, pharmacy, labs, a shared health information system, and joint fundraising campaigns.
Over the next year, as the hospitals explore the merger, they will con
tinue to engage with hospital teams, partners, donors, patients and the public.
The current hospital sites will remain operational, with no immediate changes or impacts on patient care as a result of the integration.
“Once the new corporation comes into existence, St. Joseph’s (Health System Corporation) won’t be involved with the new corporation,” Hanmer said. “St. Joseph’s will not be involved in acute care delivery in our community. They are providing home care and that will continue to be here.”
St. Mary’s hospital will continue to operate on its current site until a new hospital is built, and St. Joseph’s will ultimately decide what the St. Mary’s site will be used for, in consultation with the community.