The Ontario government is investing $6,930,704 to complete upgrades and repairs at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, and Georgian Bay General Hospital, creating a safer, more comfortable space for people and their families to connect to care and services, close to home. This funding is part of Ontario’s broader investment of over $266 million through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund (HIRF) to support infrastructure upgrades, maintenance and repairs at 126 hospitals across the province.
“The province is making strategic investments in the healthcare infrastructure that families across Simcoe North rely on every day,” said Jill Dunlop, MPP for Simcoe North. “The $6.93 million being invested in Georgian Bay General Hospital, Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, and Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care will help ensure these facilities remain safe, modern, and well-equipped to deliver exceptional care close to home. These critical upgrades and repairs will improve the patient experience, support our dedicated healthcare professionals, and strengthen the long-term reliability of our local healthcare system.”
The Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund enables health-care system partners to address their urgent infrastructure needs including upgrading or replacing roofs, windows, security systems, fire alarms and emergency generators. Since 2024, the Ontario government has increased funding through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund by 10% each year, allowing even more hospitals to complete upgrades and repairs in a timely manner.
“Our government is making historic investments to protect Ontario’s health-care system, ensuring that more people in Simcoe North can connect to the care they need, where and when they need it,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This investment will enable Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, and Georgian Bay General Hospital to address priority infrastructure needs so patients and their families can continue to access vital services and care in their community.”
Over the next 10 years, Ontario is investing approximately $64 billion in major health infrastructure. This is part of the government’s plan to get shovels in the ground on more than 50 major hospital projects across the province, which will deliver approximately 3,000 new hospital beds to enhance access to quality care and build a connected, people-first health-care system.
Through Your Health: A Plan For Connected and Convenient Care, Ontario is expanding and modernizing hospitals and building new health-care facilities, making it faster and easier for people of all ages to connect to the high-quality care they need, where and when they need it.
“Supporting our current infrastructure needs through Healthcare Infrastructure Renewal Fund (HIRF) funding, while recently approving OSMH to advance to the next stage of planning for a new hospital, is a clear illustration of the Province of Ontario supporting us today and into the future, for which we are very grateful. Over the next decade, we will continue to invest in our current site to ensure the continuity of safe, high-quality care. Investments from the Government of Ontario, such as HIRF, are critical to ensuring that our facilities stand ready, enabling timely access to hospital services.”
-Tom Roberts, Interim President and CEO, Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital
“We are grateful to the Government of Ontario for this funding, which will help address some of Waypoint’s most urgent infrastructure maintenance needs. Providing effective care and delivering exemplary patient experiences is just as much about the spaces in which that care is delivered as it is about the care teams that work within those spaces. This funding recognizes Waypoint’s ongoing work to deliver the best possible care experiences and outcomes for individuals with some of the most complex needs in Ontario. On behalf of all of our patients, we express our thanks.”
-Dr. Nadiya Sunderji, President & CEO, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
“As we approach the 50-year anniversary of GBGH this fall, the recently confirmed funding as part of the Hospital Infrastructure Renewal Fund will make a significant impact in allowing us to update various aging infrastructure items and undertake renewal projects to both the interior and exterior of the hospital. This funding will help support the replacement of our boiler system, pneumatic control systems, begin various smaller maintenance projects, and commence work on our Main Entrance revitalization project to better ensure safety and accessibility throughout all seasons.”
-Matthew Lawson, President & CEO, GBGH