West Lincoln Memorial Hospital officially opens, accepting new patients

The new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Grimsby has officially opened to patients, offering more access to health care in the Niagara region.

The hospital started accepting patients in the emergency department Sunday morning, but all services are available starting Monday.

Forty-seven patients were safely transferred from the older building into the new hospital Sunday.

The old building still stands in the area, but it will eventually be torn down in the new year and be replaced with green space and a new parking lot.

The opening of the new facility has been a long time coming, which now features some state-of-the-art features.

Government support for the $224-million project was announced nearly seven years ago, but shovels didn’t go into the ground until May 2022.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Health Minister Sylvia Jones and other local politicians and leaders were at the ribbon cutting ceremony on Nov. 14.

Hamilton Health Sciences’ website says that a modernized facility was needed to support both the community and staff.

WATCH MORE: Inside look at the new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital set to open this month

“The Grimsby community is a really huge support of our hospital and this is an integral part of the whole Grimsby and Lincoln community,” said Catherine Duffin, the director of community programs and site director with Hamilton Health Sciences.

“They’ve fundraised so much money for this building and getting it open, and up and running. It’s so important that we have services that are local to our community and are available right here in their community.”

The new facility is almost 80 per cent larger than the old one built 76 years ago.

It has 55 inpatient beds, including six maternal and newborn suites and eight bassinets.

The new hospital also has three operating rooms, one procedure room, an indoor ambulance bay, an Indigenous healing space and single-inpatient rooms.

Hamilton Health Sciences says this is the first hospital in the country to have 100 per cent single-inpatient rooms, and says it’s a “gold standard” for infection control, privacy and comfort.

The hospital is warning visitors and patients that parking is limited.

The province says over the next 10 years, it’ll be investing nearly $60 billion in health infrastructure for more than 50 hospital projects.