Ontario celebrates opening of Joseph Brant Hospital’s new patient tower

Premier Kathleen Wynne was in Burlington today to celebrate the opening of the Michael Lee-Chin and Family Patient Tower at Joseph Brant Hospital. The 425,000-square-feet, seven-storey tower will provide people in Burlington and surrounding communities with state-of-the-art facilities in a patient and family-focused environment.

The new space adds 172 beds and includes a new emergency department, two new operating rooms, as well as expanded cancer care, an intensive care unit, and recovery and inpatient units. Smart systems technology will make it easier for hospital staff to provide faster triage, shorter ER wait times and care that is more seamless and continuous.

As the province continues making the largest infrastructure investment in Ontario’s history, the 2017 construction season delivered substantial progress on more than 190 projects, including the completion of 72 and breaking ground on 71 more.

Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario.

“When we build infrastructure, we’re building communities. As we wrap up another successful construction season, record investments in hospitals, roads, bridges, transit and schools are making a real difference in people’s lives. We’re increasing access to the best health care, making it easier for people to get home from work faster to see their loved ones, and helping to give every child the best possible start in life,” said Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario.

Other major projects completed or nearing completion this construction season include:

• Building, renovating, expanding and opening 51 new and existing schools, including Boyne River Public School in Alliston, which will accommodate 461 students and provide 39 new licensed child care spaces
• Modernizing postsecondary education institutions such as the new state-of-the-art Integrated Emergency Services Complex at Northern College in Timmins
• Improving and expanding many roads and highways across the province, including significant upgrades to highways 417, 400, 11/17 and 587.

Expanding hospitals, building new schools and improving our roads, bridges and transit systems is part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.