The elephant in the waiting room is Barrie’s multi-million-dollar share of construction costs to both expand Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) and build its south campus in Innisfil.
The estimated total capital cost is roughly $3 billion, a decade after Ministry of Health approval of the project.
The local share is estimated at 10 per cent for municipalities and fundraising, with the province picking up the remainder.
“I don’t think we know the exact math yet, but yes, it’s likely a large ask is coming to Barrie council,” Mayor Jeff Lehman told BarrieToday. “I am concerned about it. Who wouldn’t be?
“The city does not have room in its budget to ‘make room’ for a major commitment to the hospital,” he added. “That does not mean the city is without options, but there is only one taxpayer. Choices about how to pay for a commitment will need to be made, and they will not be easy choices. But there is clearly a need for the hospital to expand and the city’s support will be important to that.”
Last summer, RVH officials announced plans to expand the existing Georgian Drive hospital in Barrie — now referred to as the north campus — during a 10-year period and develop a new south campus in Innisfil to meet local demands and ongoing population growth. The south campus would be built on 83 acres at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Innisfil Beach Road.
There is precedence for the city paying for health-care facilities in Barrie. The city contributed $24.3 million to the original construction of RVH, between 1989 and 1994, as well as $52.5 million for an expanded RVH between 2009 and 2013.
Lehman said the city’s share this time doesn’t demand immediate attention.
“We do have some time on our side,” he said. “While the expansion is needed in the coming years, the capital plans RVH presented represent decades of growth. I would expect an ask of the city to come with recognition that it would be paid over a long period of time, which may make the ask more manageable.”
Janice Skot, RVH’s president and chief executive officer, presented capital plans for the hospital expansion and south campus to council Monday night.
“Why now? Why the urgency to expand?” she said. “The biggest driving force is population growth. The population of south Simcoe County will continue to explode over the next two decades. It will double.
“Conservatively over the next 30 years, more than 200,000 new residents will move to south Simcoe and most of that growth will be in Barrie," Skot added.
The city’s Official Plan says Barrie’s population will double to 298,000 by 2051.
“There’s no question our hospital needs expansion, and it won’t be a small one,” Lehman said. “Having been part of the capital planning process, I’ve seen the patient demand numbers, which are a function of growth and an aging population. Our fast-growing city absolutely needs a larger hospital.”
Pre-pandemic, RVH’s bed occupancy rate was 115 per cent — with all beds full most days.
“I was glad to see in (Skot’s) presentation (Monday) night, and in the questions from councillors, a focus on the big picture – that the demand driving the need for hospital space is also a function of all the other capacity needed in the health-care system as well,” Lehman said. “Long-term care, mental health, addictions and the broader social determinants of health are all part of the picture. RVH is playing an active role in this along with the city through the Barrie Health Accord.”
Skot confirmed Monday night that RVH will be coming to the city for its share of the expansion’s capital costs, although she did not give a figure and no councillor asked her for one.
“The cost of RVH’s capital project at the 10-year mark is estimated to be roughly $3 billion,” she said. “We would be bringing a future request of the City of Barrie council to support the actual build of the project.”
BarrieToday asked Coun. Mike McCann why the question about Barrie’s share wasn’t asked.
“I think it’s too early. I understand an ask is coming. There will be an expectation from the city,” he said. “When (RVH comes) back with more information from the province… then they’re going to come back with an ask.
“Council has the responsibility of making that decision,” he added. ”We’re either going to have to get creative — it isn’t like this is the first rodeo, hospitals get built all across Ontario and Canada — and municipalities have to contribute. We’re going to have to find that way, whether it’s fundraising… a separate levy that’s put on the tax bill for the hospital. It’s going to have to get built somehow.”
McCann noted this municipal/fundraising amount is shared by more than one municipality, not just Barrie.
Skot has said that in order for all health-care capital projects to be successful, they require very strong support from the local communities — which could be RVH fundraising and/or municipal financing.
She has cited August 2005, when Barrie city council committed to a $52.5-million contribution toward the expanded RVH, and the provincial government approving the project the next month.
Skot has also said funding formulas show that for planning, building and consultants, etc., it’s about a 90/10 per cent split — with the province picking up the larger percentage of those costs.
“Certainly, not only would the current residents but all future residents benefit greatly by ensuring we have sufficient size and capacity in our hospital to ensure that in fact we can provide the care needed,” she said. “The whole concept was to talk about the hospital of the future. It isn’t the hospital of today, it certainly isn’t the hospital of the past.”
Barrie’s expanded RVH will feature a new, nine-storey tower, in-patient beds, operating rooms and an expanded emergency department.
“The north campus is where the bulk of the expansion will occur over the next decade,” Skot said. “Our plan sees the prime faculty doubling in size, again, enabling this facility to focus on more acute, complex services and procedures. The north campus will be transformed into a larger, regional centre expanding almost every service we provide.”
The south campus would be built in three phases. In its first phase, the health hub would have ambulatory care, outpatient clinics and an urgent care centre. Phase two would add post-acute care, while phase three would be a full-service hospital with in-patient units, surgical suites and a 24/7 emergency department.
RVH has 390 beds now. That will grow to 478 beds in five years and 611 beds in a decade. There are to be 915 beds between both campuses in 20 years.
