Officials cut ribbon to open new patient-care centre at Michael Garron Hospital

Officials cut a red ribbon to open a new patient care centre at an east-end Toronto hospital on Wednesday morning.

Michael Garron Hospital's Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre will open officially for outpatient care on Jan. 23 and for inpatient care on Feb. 4. It's located at Coxwell and Sammon avenues.

The eight-storey centre has 215 inpatient beds for surgical, medicine and mental health programs and two floors of new outpatient clinics. Under construction since 2018, the centre adds 550,000 square feet to the hospital.

It's part of a $498 million project that includes updates to existing outdated spaces at the hospital.

"Today is indeed an exciting day, filled with hope and inspiration for this community's future," Wolf Klassen, interim CEO and president, said on Wednesday.

"In just a week's time, we will officially open the doors to the state-of-the-art health-care facility that East Toronto needs and deserves."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Health Minister Sylvia Jones and Toronto Mayor John Tory, among others, attended the centre's grand opening event organized by the hospital. Music accompanied the ribbon-cutting.

According to the hospital, the centre is Ontario's newest health-care facility and its opening marks a "new era" for East York's 400,000 residents.

Ford said philanthropy makes all the difference when it comes to the building of new facilities in many different areas.

"Without the philanthropy from very, very generous people, these facilities wouldn't be able to be built," Ford said.

Tory, for his part, said the hospital has never forgotten that community matters. He said the hospital excels at remembering its diverse community and taking its mission from the people it serves.

"Please don't take the focus off the community because that is why we succeed as a city," he said.

Tory said he knew the late Ken and Marilyn Thomson, whom the centre is named after, and described them as "warm and caring and very humble" people. Ken Thomson was best known as an international media magnate and he and his wife were noted philanthropists. 

Hospital now 'most up-to-date' in Ontario, CEO says

In an interview, Klassen said the centre's environment will promote recovery and healing and will be good for visiting family members. It's also a special building in which to work, he added.

"it's exciting to work in the most up-to-date hospital in Ontario," he said. 

He said the centre replaces some of the hospital's oldest and most outdated patient-care spaces. It also has two inpatient mental health units, a surgery inpatient unit, an outpatient chronic disease unit, an educational centre and a simulation centre that provides a space for "hands-on immersive learning experiences."

Earlier, Klassen told the gathering that the facility was designed to be bright and spacious. Most of its 215 beds are in private rooms with individual washrooms and all of the rooms are wheelchair accessible. Large windows in the rooms overlook East York.

"The Thomson Centre offers patients beautiful, panoramic views of the city, with light-filled surroundings and greater privacy, bringing dignity and calm as they heal and recover," he said.

Klassen thanked the Ontario Ministry of Health, Infrastructure Ontario, donors to the Michael Garron Hospital Foundation, with a generous gift from Peter and Diana Thomson, EllisDon, the design consultants led by Diamond Schmitt Architects, B+H Architects, and CannonDesign for their support and work on the centre.

"Our team has worked tirelessly, in partnership with funders and partners, to bring this transformational project to life," he said.