Hospital update reveals build to begin this fall

Justyne Edgell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An update on the status of the Uxbridge Hospital redevelopment was given during a virtual town hall meeting held last Thursday, and the township can look forward to shovels going in the ground this fall.

Oak Valley Health says it is “dedicated to creating a hospital that seamlessly connects with all its affiliated sites, including Markham Stouffville Hospital and its smaller access clinics.”

The new hospital will see an increase in beds, from the current 20 to 31, and will see the helipad moved from a ground location to the rooftop of the redeveloped facility. During construction, until the build is complete, the helipad will be relocated to the Fields of Uxbridge.

An artistic rendering of what the new hospital facility in Uxbridge may look like. Photo from oakvalleyhealth.ca

Oak Valley Health pointed out that the Uxbridge Hospital has a large catchment area, with patients coming from Scarborough, Oshawa, Simcoe and Vaughan, and it recognizes that the larger updated facility will be hugely beneficial to its greater community.

While the new hospital is being built, Oak Valley Health says that the existing Uxbridge hospital will remain fully functioning and will only be demolished once the new facility is operational.

When asked how it imagines it can attract more staff to the large facility when there is a known shortage of medical professionals, Oak Valley responded that it believes the new “outstanding facility” will attract the necessary staff itself.

Oak Valley Health expects that once shovels hit the ground, the project will take 24 months to complete, and 36 months with demolition of the existing site.

Oak Valley Health says it will continue to engage and update the community as the project progresses.

A timeline shared during the meeting noted that drawing designs are currently in progress, with contract development in place for later this spring, permission to tender set for this August, and already in its early stages, a contract to be awarded by early fall of 2024, with shovels hitting the soil in November 2024.

For more information and ongoing updates, visit oakvalleyhealth.ca/foundations/uxbridge-hospital-foundation/uxbridge-hospital-redevelopment/