The Ontario government is investing $20,803,900 million to support improved operations and reduced wait times at Niagara Health sites across the region and Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. Catharines. This funding is part of a $1.1 billion investment into the province’s hospital sector as part of Budget 2026, A Plan to Protect Ontario, which represents an increase in annual support for the fourth year in a row.
“Our government continues to provide record funding for hospitals across the province, including year-over-year increases in operational funding for Niagara Health and Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre,” said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.
“With the completion of the new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Grimsby and ongoing construction of the new South Niagara Hospital in Niagara Falls, the province is adding nearly 600 new beds across Niagara. These critical projects are increasing capacity, reducing wait times and bringing state of the art technology to our region.”
This investment will support the operations of core clinical services at Niagara Health and Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre to better meet patient needs. This includes funding to help keep emergency departments open, support inflationary or other wage pressures and reduce wait times for diagnostic imaging and surgical procedures, including MRI, CT, cardiac, stroke, neuro services, orthopedics and cataracts, so that people can connect to care faster.
Following a recent call for applications, MPP Oosterhoff announced an expansion of diagnostic services in Niagara in early July. GNMI Medical Imaging in St. Catharines has been approved to provide expanded MRI and CT scans services with two new additional licences, doubling the number of MRI machines in Niagara from three to six and increasing the number of CT scanners from five to seven.
“Our government is making historic investments to protect Ontario’s health-care system, ensuring that more people in Niagara can connect to the care they need, where and when they need it,” said Hon. Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.
“This investment will allow Niagara Health and Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre to continue delivering the highest standard of care while reducing wait lists and wait times for patients and families, for generations to come.”
“We appreciate this investment from the province, which will help Niagara Health address rising operating costs while continuing to provide high-quality care to patients and families across our region,” said Lynn Guerriero, President and Chief Executive Officer of Niagara Health.
“Together with ongoing investments in hospital infrastructure, including the new South Niagara Hospital and Welland Hospital, this funding strengthens our ability to deliver hospital care for the people of Niagara.”
“Investments such as this from the Ontario government enable us to continue delivering the highest quality care, invest in our people and services and ensure patients across Niagara receive the compassionate, specialized care they deserve,” said Dr. David Ceglie, Chief Executive Officer of Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre.
“We are extremely appreciative of the province’s continued partnership and support as we advance our capital expansion project. We look forward to the next phase of provincial investment that will support the addition of sixty-two new in-patient rehabilitation beds for Niagara residents. This significant expansion will enhance access to specialized rehabilitation services, reduce wait times and help ensure more patients can receive the care they need, closer to home.”
Ontario continues to make historic investments in health care. Over the next ten years, Ontario is investing approximately $64 billion in major health infrastructure. This is part of the government’s plan to get shovels in the ground on more than fifty major hospital projects across the province, which will deliver approximately 3,000 new hospital beds to enhance access to quality care and build a connected, people-first health-care system.
Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is expanding access to key services to provide people with the right care, in the right place, close to come.
News & Updates from Niagara Health
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