Provincial government giving more than $13M to Waterloo Region hospitals

The Ontario government announced Friday it was giving hospitals in Waterloo Region more than $13 million in funding.

In a media release, they said its part of a $572.3 million investment to "reimburse hospitals across the province for their lost revenue during the pandemic" as well as to "provide financial stability and support [for] continued high-quality patient care."

The total amount set aside for regional hospitals is $13,652,890. Of that, $2,957,500 will go to Cambridge Memorial Hospital, $2,539,638 for St. Mary's General Hospital, and $8,155,752 for Grand River Hospital.

"Our hospitals and health care professionals have been at the front lines, battling the pandemic with the upmost dedication to caring for and protecting our most vulnerable individuals," said Mike Harris, the MPP for Kitchener Conestoga, in the release. "The Ontario government is committed to supporting our hospitals through and beyond the challenges of the past two years. Today's funding announcement is an important step to financial recovery and to ensuring future stability for hospitals in Waterloo Region."

"The last couple of years have been challenging," said Ron Gagnon, the president and CEO of Grand River Hospital, in the release. "This funding will help to fill a critical gap created by COVID-19 costs and the loss of traditional sources of revenue that are used to fund vital equipment and support the cost of operating."

The province cited some of those sources, including co-payments for private rooms and retail services. That money, they said, contributes to patient care and clinical services.

"Throughout the pandemic, we worked as a system of care to support one another to be able to care for more patients than we have ever seen," said Lee Fairclough, the hospital lead for the region's COVID-19 response and president of St. Mary’s General Hospital, in the release. "We worked together redeploying staff across our hospitals and our community, but to do this, it also meant reducing other services that resulted in financial pressures for hospitals. Investments such as this will help us to bridge this financial gap created throughout the pandemic and help us focus on our own recovery so we can help patients with theirs."