Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital officially opens

June 9, 2021 · 0 Comments

Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital is the first net new hospital to open in Ontario in 30 years, the first smart hospital.
Today, Mackenzie Health officially opened its second hospital, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital Sunday, as a full-service community hospital to serve the residents of western York Region including Vaughan, Richmond Hill and King.
While Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital opened in February exclusively to support the province’s pandemic response and the GTA Incident Management System (IMS), providing necessary relief to the health-care system, Mackenzie Health’s second hospital has now fully opened to support the community as originally planned.
“After more than a decade-long journey, Mackenzie Health is excited today to see Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital open as intended as a full-service hospital for our community,” said Mackenzie Health President and CEO Altaf Stationwala. “While we have been proud to step up as a system solution in the fight against COVID-19, our community needs and deserves this hospital now more than ever before.”
Mackenzie Health has cared for the highest proportion of COVID-19 patients in Ontario, with 514 patients transferred to Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital since it opened to provide pandemic relief on Feb. 7. At the same time, the emergency department at its sister hospital, Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital, has come under considerable and unsustainable strain with the number of patients requiring an inpatient bed outnumbering available staffed beds.
With COVID-19 cases now declining in hospitals, including in ICUs across the province, and the ramp up in the provincial rollout of the vaccines, Mackenzie Health and the Government of Ontario made the decision that the time was right to open Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital as a full-service hospital for the community.
“Today’s opening of Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital is a historic moment in our mission to end hallway health care in Ontario,” said Premier Doug Ford. “In the heart of one of the fastest growing areas in Canada, this new hospital will ensure residents in Vaughan and surrounding communities receive the care they deserve for generations to come. Congratulations to the Mackenzie Health family on the opening of this new, state-of-the-art facility.”
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott also expressed her gratitude in recognition of this important milestone for the community.
“At the height of the pandemic, Mackenzie Health delayed the full opening of the new Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital to act as a systemwide resource for our health-care system, providing care to some of Ontario’s most vulnerable patients,” said Elliott. “We are incredibly grateful for the compassion and generosity of our York Region community, and are thrilled that York Region will benefit from the exceptional care provided at this new, state-of-the-art hospital.”
The Magna Emergency at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital officially opened to the community, doubling access to emergency care in western York Region. Mackenzie Health now has two hospitals, each with a full-service emergency department, specialized programs and core services such as surgery, medicine and critical care.
“As one of the fastest growing cities in Canada in a region where the population is expected to grow by more than 35 per cent over the next 20 years, the residents of Vaughan deserve access to safe, quality care provided by expert clinicians,” said Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua. “The generosity of our community has raised more than $200 million towards our $250 million Ultimate campaign goal so far, allowing us to mark this important milestone as we open the first hospital in the City of Vaughan.”
Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital is also the new home of Mackenzie Health’s Woman and Child and Inpatient Mental Health programs and the Sorbara Integrated Stroke Unit. Mackenzie Health’s community-based locations and services will continue to provide additional support to western York Region.
“We know how much our community, physicians, staff, volunteers and donors have been looking forward to opening Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital and we thank them for their ongoing support, dedication and patience as we did the right thing and stepped up to support the provincial pandemic response before opening as a full-service hospital,” said Stationwala.
“This is a game changer – state-of-the-art health care in the heart of our community. Our government committed to opening this hospital, and in partnership with our community, we are getting the job done for Vaughan and King families. This is the largest provincial investment in our community that will directly improve our quality of life, from mental health, to child and birthing, emergency care, and a stroke unit that will save lives and help new ones enter the world,” added Stephen Lecce, MPP for King-Vaughan and Minister of Education.
“On behalf of York Regional Council, The Regional Municipality of York and more than 1.2 million residents who call our communities home, we congratulate Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital on their official opening. A special thank you to Mackenzie Health who opened their doors in February to support the province’s pandemic response in the fight against COVID-19. This new smart hospital will expand health-care capacity across York Region and help build strong, caring and safe communities today and for generations to come,” noted Wayne Emmerson, York Region Chairman and CEO.
The Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital project was made possible by support and investments from government and community partners including the City of Vaughan, the Regional Municipality of York and the Province of Ontario. The Ontario government invested $1.3 billion towards the $1.7 billion project. The local share, required to help cover costs for technology and medical equipment as well as a portion of the construction costs, continues to be supported by the generosity of the community through the Ultimate campaign. To date, the campaign has raised more than $200 million of the $250 million goal.