Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) has selected global integrated design firm Stantec as the Planning, Design and Conformance (PDC) team for the New Windsor/Essex Acute Care Hospital, a single-site acute care facility for the growing communities’ needs. Stantec architects and engineers will support the project through the development of block schematics and indicative design phases, the tendering process, and construction.

Situated on a 60-acre site, the new acute care hospital will span 1.6 million square feet with state-of-the-art Emergency/Trauma Services, Cancer Care, Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Regional Cardiac Services, Critical Care, Medical/Surgical Inpatient Units, Surgical Services, and Outpatient Clinics. The hospital will include increased bed capacity as well as increased capacity in Emergency Services to increase to meet patient needs into the future.

The facilities modern design will give patients and their families more privacy, comfort, and control by providing 100% inpatient patient rooms with the capacity to be private and/or isolation rooms with improved infection prevention control and a modern ventilation system. There will also be increased capacity to support WRH partners in education – including the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Windsor Program – and enhance research and clinical trials. The updated infrastructure will strengthen the ability to recruit and retain physicians, nurses and frontline health professionals and medical leaders.

Collaboration and input at the heart of the project “This is a significant project milestone. We are thankful for the leadership, input, and support from all who have helped move this project forward including hospital staff, professional staff, patients, their families, the community, planning experts, the government, and elected officials at all levels,” said David Musyj, President & CEO, Windsor Regional Hospital. “We now look forward to working with Stantec to continue to advance the project and ensure we are in good shape to start construction on or before the target date.” 

Together with 39 user group teams – comprising hospital leadership, professional staff, and patient and community representatives – Stantec will develop design plans and performance requirements for the new hospital and oversee their adherence throughout the construction period. The firm will work with the WRH User Group Planning Teams, the Project Management Team, and Infrastructure Ontario to position Windsor Regional Hospital for the successful tendering process for a project developer in 2025 and the start of construction in 2027. 

”By bringing state-of-the-art tertiary, acute, and community-based health care services to a growing patient population, we are helping establish the new hospital as the cornerstone of the region’s healthcare,” said Tim Eastwood, senior principal for Stantec. “We are honored to be part of a project that solves capacity issues and places the community needs at the center of our efforts.”

Stantec’s work on the New Windsor/Essex Acute Care Hospital will begin immediately with the study of the Campus Plan and preparation of the Stage 2B Ministry of Health submission. These early design plans will develop block diagrams, including the overall circulation flows (horizontal and vertical) for all clinical and non-clinical services. The schedule goal is to submit the Stage 2 block diagrams, together with the functional program and an early cost estimate to the Ministry of Health in early 2023 for approval to proceed with the next major phase of this project -- the detailed indicative design development and preparation of output specifications.

Designing for care across Ontario Stantec’s work for WRH is a continuation of their vast healthcare design presence in Ontario in recent years, including South Niagara Hospital, set to be Canada’s first WELL Certified hospital; Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital’s new 1.2 million-square-foot facility; Cambridge Memorial Hospital’s new patient care wing, Brockville General Hospital’s Phase 2 Complex Continuing Care, Mental Health, and Rehabilitation project; and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Phase 1C Redevelopment. Currently, the firm is also providing design services for the Trillium Health Partners’ Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital and Queensway site. Through the power of design, Stantec is advancing health and wellness worldwide and increasing access to critical health services for everyone in the province. Learn more about Stantec’s healthcare work here.