FAQs

General

• What is Infrastructure Ontario and what is their role in the process?

  Infrastructure Ontario (IO) is a Crown agency owned by the Province of Ontario, which provides a range of services that support the Ontario government's initiatives to modernize and maximize the value of public infrastructure and real estate. Working in partnership with the private sector, IO upholds its commitment to renew public services.

  Infrastructure Ontario oversees the planning, design and delivery of hospitals and health care facilities as part of its mandate to deliver large infrastructure projects across the province. IO and the Ministry of Health are working with Niagara Health to build the new South Niagara Hospital, which will be publicly owned, controlled and accountable.

• What is Niagara Health?

  Niagara Health (NH) is a community-based academic centre with a focus on teaching and learning, research and innovation. We are very proud of our strong partnership with the St. Joseph’s Health System and our academic partners including McMaster University, Brock University and Niagara College.

  Serving more than 450,000 residents across 12 municipalities making up the Regional Municipality of Niagara, NH is a regional healthcare provider with multiple sites and a growing network of community-based services. The team is comprised of more than 4,800 employees, 600 physicians and 850 volunteers to deliver ‘Extraordinary Caring. Every Person. Every Time.'

  We provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services to residents across Niagara, including Acute Care, Cancer Care, Cardiac Care, Complex Care, Emergency and Urgent Care, Kidney Care, Long-Term Care, Mental Health and Addictions, Stroke Care, and Surgical Care.

• What is the role of the Ministry of Health in the process?

  The Ministry of Health provides oversight through a rigorous approval process to fulfill their mandate to improve outcomes and contribute to healthier communities. The Ministry funds the majority of the project.

• Where will the South Niagara Site be located?

  The South Niagara Site will be centrally located at the intersection of Biggar Road and Montrose Road in Niagara Falls, just off the Queen Elizabeth (QEW).  
• Who is building the hospital?

  EllisDon Infrastructure Healthcare (EDIH) was awarded the $3.6 billion contract in February 2023 to design, build, finance and maintain the new hospital. EDIH was selected after extensive evaluations following an open, fair and competitive request for proposals process that began in October 2021.

• What stage in the planning process are you currently in for the South Niagara Site?

  We are currently in Stage 5 of the Ministry of Health's five stage capital planning process, the implementation and construction stage. 

• What does the future look like?

  In our proposal to the Ministry of Health, we outline a plan to evolve to three hospital sites (St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland) and expand access to healthcare services in communities across Niagara. 

  We are actively working with community members in Fort Erie and Port Colborne to determine the best mix of services and new ways to provide care to ensure we are meeting the needs of residents.
  
  Read more about our plans for the Fort Erie and Port Colborne sites here, and for the Welland Site here.

  Hospitals will provide services for those who need a higher level of care, while services provided in community settings will bring care closer to home for residents whose needs do not require hospital stays.

  Our proposal includes redefining the way healthcare looks in the region through community partnerships and enhanced services closer to home, and in some cases, in the home.

• What will happen to the current Niagara Falls Site once the new hospital is opened?

  We are still in the early stages of planning. We will be working work the City of Niagara Falls and the community to determine the best decision to move forward.

Construction & Services

• When will construction begin?

  In July 2023, Niagara Health and the Niagara Health Foundation hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for the South Niagara Hospital. Construction began shortly after, and is expected to take approximately five years. 

• When will construction be complete?

  Construction is expected to be completed in 2028, with the opening planned for that summer. 

• Why is there construction on the roads surrounding the hospital site?

  In March 2023, the City of Niagara Falls and the Niagara Region started road works in the area surrounding the South Niagara hospital site. The work not only supports the new hospital site, but also the anticipated growth in the surrounding area.
  
  The scope of work involves widening the roads from two lanes to four, modifying intersections and installing municipal services. It will also provide improvements to drainage, culverts, landscaping, and for safety. It is expected that there will be road closures and detours at times related to the road work, which is scheduled to be completed in July 2024, pending weather. Please use caution when travelling through the area. 
  
  More information about the road works project is available here.

  You can also see Public Notices from the City of Niagara Falls here. 

• How much is the South Niagara Site going to cost?

  EllisDon Infrastructure Healthcare (EDIH) was awarded a fixed-price contract of approximately $3.6 billion to design, build, finance and maintain the new South Niagara Site. The contract reflects the payments made during construction, the substantial completion payment and the monthly service payments before inflation adjustments.

  The project was priced through a rigorous competitive process to ensure value for the taxpayers of Ontario.

• How much is the community expected to donate?

  The support of the community is crucial in ensuring we design a new kind of healthcare that fosters a community of connected care, advances the boundaries of healing and transforms your experience from ordinary to the extraordinary.

  Together, nothing is beyond our reach.

• What services will be at the South Niagara Site?

  See Proposed Services

• What services will be at the Welland Site?
  See Proposed Services
• When you talk about future changes in delivering care, what do you mean?

  Niagara Health is committed to fundamentally shifting the healthcare delivery system for Niagara. From the current hospital centric model in which the hospital is the core healthcare resource in each community, to transition to a model in which hospital services support frontline and community-based care providers. A model that shifts resources to the community where they’ll have the biggest impact for patients.

  This model will bring healthcare providers to the patients through enhanced community partnerships and in-home care options. This model will be supported though two centralized state-of-the-art hospitals and a redeveloped site in Welland which together will form a more efficient, yet more robust patient-focused health system where even patients who are chronically ill can be cared for in the community with less reliance on the hospital. Patients will access care in the community and in their homes through enhanced partnerships, clinics and satellite offices for specialist and physicians.

  Technology advancements have afforded us new opportunities for healthcare delivery that we never dreamed possible. In our planning, we are working with some of most forward thinking technological companies to plan for what the future brings.

  Ontario Health Teams will also provide us with new opportunities to think even more as a seamless, integrated healthcare system. Under Ontario Health Teams, healthcare providers will work as one coordinated team – no matter where they provide care.

Other Questions?