RVH to expand into Innisfil with new South Campus

Barrie, Ont. -

Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) announced its future South Campus would be built in Innisfil, south of Stroud.

The new campus will be located on an 83-acre site at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Innisfil Beach Road.

Charlotte Wallis, RVH Board of Director's chair, and Janice Skot, RVH president and CEO, made the announcement from the site on Wednesday.

"This is a historic moment as we take this important step in bringing care closer to home for the people of south Simcoe County," Wallis said.

The first phase of the Innisfil campus is expected to be built within 10 years. The site will be a Health Hub, focusing on outpatient care, and will expand over time to become a full-service hospital.

Skot noted the new campus was essential to meet the region's health care needs, with more than 170,000 new residents projected to move to the area by 2041.

"RVH is already bursting at the seams," Skot said. "Prior to the pandemic, its medicine bed occupancy rate consistently exceeded 115 per cent. Patients were routinely cared for in hallways."

RVH will begin the next phase of its planning with site-specific consultation.

"We must move forward with our expansion plans as soon as possible," Skot concluded.

RVH is holding a virtual learning session on Mon., Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. for residents.