Don’t hold your breath.
Because it sounds like the expansion of Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) is still pretty far on the horizon.
When asked by Village Media on Nov. 15 whether the Ontario government had a timeline for the project, Health Minister Sylvia Jones answered with a “no,” before offering a broad explanation.
“We’re working very actively with what their No. 1 priority is, what their greatest need is,” she said Friday afternoon during the official opening of Innisfil’s new Georgian Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic. “I’ve visited Royal Vic a number of times, I’ve seen the challenges.
"The truth is, as Ontario’s population expands and ages, we need to make sure we have those systems in place.”
Across the province, 50 hospitals are undergoing capital projects right now — from new builds to expansions and renovations.
“The work we are doing with Royal Vic is important,” Jones said. “I’ve had tours, I’ve had conversations with their leadership and local MPPs. I know there are opportunities. But, again, we have to do this in a way that ensures that we have those systems in place.
"I know Royal Vic will continue to be a really critically important piece to the health-care system. But it is a piece of the greater system," she added.
Significant investment is also required in primary, home- and long-term-care streams, as well as places like hospices, Jones said.
“The whole system is being carefully assessed and reviewed to make sure we make investments all along the continuum,” she said.
While Jones didn't specify what RVH's top needs are, the hospital did issue a media release Friday afternoon, noting it is focused on driving clinical and academic excellence and "cultivating high-performing teams who take pride in providing exceptional patient and family experiences," during a breakfast meeting with politicians earlier in the day.
RVH says its priorities are based around addressing key issues, such as hallway medicine, long wait times and the burden of travel for patients.
“Over the past two years, we've focused on envisioning our future and laying the groundwork for significant change to better serve our region,” RVH president and chief executive officer Gail Hunt said. “Central to this effort has been understanding what our growing communities need — quality care, close to home, delivered by skilled professionals within an accessible and equitable system.”
RVH's release acknowledged the province’s "fiscal constraints" and the rising costs of construction, noting the hospital submitted a revised capital expansion plan in September 2024, to prioritize urgent needs and focus on expanding services in both Barrie and Innisfil over the next decade.
“It’s clear that RVH is not only adapting to the growing needs of our community, but is truly leading the way in transforming health care for the entire Simcoe-Muskoka region,” Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin said. “This vision for the future will have a lasting impact, and I’m committed to ensuring our community has the support it needs to make it a reality.”
RVH had for years stressed the importance of an expansion plan estimated in 2021 dollars at more than $3 billion. It even launched the $100-million Keep Life Wild campaign to help fulfill its goal.
“We’re completing a complete community here in Innisfil, hopefully with a hospital around the corner as well,” Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin said at the Innisfil clinic opening.
The $3-billion plan had called for the doubling of the current site on Georgian Drive in Barrie, including a new nine-storey tower, inpatient beds, operating rooms and an expanded emergency department, as well as the construction of a south campus on an 83-acre parcel of land in Innisfil.
