Northwestern Ontario Cardio Surgery Program Groundbreaking - (CJ Goater/Acadia Broadcasting)
Ground has been broken on the first cardiovascular surgery facility in northwestern Ontario.
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s Cardiovascular Surgery Program is a step closer to being fully established.
The facility will save patients from having to travel to Toronto for urgent and non-urgent heart surgery.
The provincial government has invested a total of over $98.7 million to support the project.
“For the first time, our region will have its own Cardiovascular Surgery Program bringing lifesaving care closer to home,” said the MPP for Thunder Bay–Atikokan, Kevin Holland. This project reflects our government’s strong commitment to improving access to health care in the North and ensuring better outcomes for patients and families.”
“It also builds on more than $200 million in health care investments our community has received since I was elected in 2022, including critical expansions, infrastructure upgrades, and frontline services that are improving care across Thunder Bay.”
Once complete, the program will improve access to surgical care, reduce wait times, and lead to better outcomes for patients across the region.
The cardio program is being developed in partnership with University Health Network’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre to ensure the highest standards of care.
“We are proud to partner with Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre on this important step toward bringing comprehensive cardiovascular surgical care to Northwestern Ontario,” said Medical Director, UHN’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, Dr. Barry Rubin. “It is exciting to see construction begin, as it brings us closer to delivering the same standard of excellence in Thunder Bay that patients receive at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre.”
The new facility will include over 76,000 square feet of space that will be renovated and expanded to accommodate the new program.
The project will include:
- 14 new cardiovascular surgery inpatient care unit beds
- 6 coronary care unit beds
- New state-of-the-art surgical suite
- Expanded ambulatory care and pre-admission clinic
- New vascular lab
- Renovations to medical devices, reprocessing, and biomedical departments
The new services will also help to increase capacity and address surgical wait times in other hospitals across the province that currently perform cardiovascular surgeries for patients from northwestern Ontario.
The hope is that the facility is complete by the end of 2027.
