Grand River and St. Mary's hospitals look to merge by next spring

CBC
·2 min read
St. Mary's Hospital and Grand River Hospital are looking to merge into one organization. If approved, the transition could take up to a year. (Brian St. Denis/CBC - image credit)
St. Mary's Hospital and Grand River Hospital are looking to merge into one organization. If approved, the transition could take up to a year. (Brian St. Denis/CBC - image credit)

Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's General Hospital have plans to merge.

The hospitals are in the process of putting together the details of the merger to discuss it with the province's Ministry of Health.

St. Mary's board of trustees chair Tim Rollins said the reason for the proposed merger is to provide patients with faster and better access to care.

"The population growth within the community and the aging population, they're going to continue to put pressures on the healthcare system that is already under pressure," Rollins told CBC News Wednesday.

"We believe coming together now will enable us to set the foundation for future innovation working together and ensure better care and better outcomes for this community for generations to come."

Grand River board chair Sandra Hanmer said the merger will combine the hospitals' strengths for healthcare workers to deliver better care. It will also help retain more staff.

"For the staff, it will give them additional supports. We are sorely needing healthcare practitioners within our community and by being together, we are hopeful this will help us attract and retain the best and the brightest in our community," she told CBC News.

Grand River Hospital's manager of communications, Cheryl Evans, says the hospital will continue to leverage new care opportunities and is prepared to allocate existing beds and re-open beds as needed in response to Omicron. The hospital is already stretched thin, reporting less than 10 beds available for COVID-19 patients alone on Dec. 18.
Grand River Hospital's manager of communications, Cheryl Evans, says the hospital will continue to leverage new care opportunities and is prepared to allocate existing beds and re-open beds as needed in response to Omicron. The hospital is already stretched thin, reporting less than 10 beds available for COVID-19 patients alone on Dec. 18.

Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital board members say merging combines hospitals' strength and will improve access to care. (CBC)

The hospitals currently have had joint collaborations including shared clinical support services, a shared information system and COVID-19 responses.

The two hospitals are also working together on a plan for a new regional hospital.

The hospitals received input from staff, physicians and patients last fall about a potential merger.

The merger of the hospitals still has to be approved by the Ontario Ministry of Health. Rollins and Hamner said the hospitals plan to submit a business plan to the ministry by September.

They said there will also be community consultation on the plan later this spring.

The name of the new organization is expected to be decided later in the planning process based on community and hospital staff input.

If approved, the beginning stages of transitioning to one organization is expected to take one year and could launch as early as spring 2025.