Timmins and District Hospital is set to undergo a significant upgrade with the construction of a larger emergency department. The announcement by the Ontario government revealed plans to renovate and expand the current emergency department, increasing its size by over 27,000 square feet, which will make it four times larger than its current capacity.
This expansion is part of a broader initiative by the government to fund more than 50 major hospital projects across the province over the next decade. The new state-of-the-art emergency department will feature 29 acute treatment spaces, improved infection control measures, and a dedicated area for emergency mental health care. Health Minister Sylvia Jones highlighted the project’s goal of providing enhanced mental health and addiction support to the community.
Timmins and District Hospital, serving approximately 110,000 residents in the city and surrounding areas, receives an average of 43,000 patient visits annually at its emergency department. Dr. Kyle Harper, the chief of emergency medicine, emphasized the need for the expansion due to the current high patient volume, which exceeds the provincial standard. The redevelopment aims to address the increasing acuity of patients, particularly in response to intensified health conditions since the pandemic, such as mental health crises, heart attacks, and liver disease.
The hospital has been allocated $1.89 million through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund for the fiscal year 2025-26, with $1.5 million designated as a one-time Exceptional Circumstance Project Grant. Collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the hospital is ongoing to finalize project planning, including determining the final square footage of the expanded emergency department.