KITCHENER -- A Kitchener hospital is getting a major influx of cash after the Ontario government announced funding for its cardiac wing.
The province signed over $7.4 million for the wing at St. Mary's General Hospital on Wednesday.
The hospital has been waiting on this money for several years—it was promised back in June of 2016.
It had hoped to have the new wing open already, but staff members say they're happy to be moving forward at all.
"It's typical for any build of hospitals or infrastructure within hospitals, there is a process to go through and it does take time and this government has put us across the finish line, which is so important so now we can actually start the construction," says Tom Stewart, CEO of St. Joseph Health Systems.
The funding will be used to create a heart rhythm program to treat abnormal heartbeats. Right now, St. Mary's has to send patients that need such a program to Hamilton or London.
The program will allow doctors to diagnose and treat patients in house, instead.
Funding will also allow the hospital to add 3,500 square feet to its cardiac clinic and recovery space.
The heart rhythm program is expected to be ready in the spring of 2021.
A number of other rural hospitals also received funding on Tuesday.
Stratford General Hospital is getting $1.2 million, while the hospital in Listowel and in the town of St. Marys also received several hundred thousand dollars.
