August 23, 2021
New Portage la Prairie Hospital to Enhance Health Services for Southern Manitoba, Meet the Needs of Province's Most Rapidly Growing Health Region
– – –Investment Will Replace Aging Facility, Significantly Expand Access to Health Services Closer to Home: Pallister
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE—A new hospital will offer more inpatient beds, expanded medicine and surgical capacity, and an improved emergency department to serve Portage la Prairie and many Southern Health–Santé Sud communities as part of Manitoba’s ongoing commitment to improving health care services, Premier Brian Pallister announced here today.
“Our government is committed to building a stronger health-care system that meets the needs of Manitobans as close to home as possible, both now and for generations to come,” said Pallister. “This significant investment for a new facility will not only replace the existing hospital with a modern facility, it will also offer new and additional services for Manitobans who live and work in these growing communities, reducing the need for many patients, and their families, to travel for health care.”
The new $283-million, two-storey hospital will be at least double the size of the existing facility and is expected to include:
• a minimum of 90 acute care inpatient beds;
• increased day surgery capacity so more patients can have procedures performed without needing to travel to Winnipeg, Brandon or elsewhere in the health region;
• an expanded emergency department designed to best practice standards that include treatment and assessment rooms, a trauma room, stretcher bay and an ambulance bay; and
• enhanced space for a number of programs including diagnostics, dialysis, palliative care and various outpatient services which include lab and rehabilitation.
“The new Portage District General Hospital will be bigger and better, providing the community and the region with a modern facility and access to many services that previously may have required multiple trips to Winnipeg or Brandon,” said Dale Lyle, board chair, Portage Hospital Foundation. “Today’s announcement will support the delivery of health-care services closer to home for patients in a rapidly growing area of our province.”
Southern Health–Santé Sud is the fastest-growing health region in the province, with its population growing by 14,000 in the past five years to approximately 212,000. Construction of the new hospital is expected to be complete in 2025, the premier noted, adding full details of the services to be available in the new facility are being finalized in consultation with clinical leaders and the health region.
As first announced in Budget 2021: Protecting Manitobans, Advancing Manitoba, Manitoba is making a historic $812-million capital investment in building, expanding and renovating health-care facilities across the province in support of Manitoba’s Clinical and Preventive Services Plan. The plan, led by clinicians, establishes a geographic network of care that will improve access to care for all Manitobans and identifies a new facility in Portage la Prairie – with an expanded clinical service profile – as foundational to efforts to support better care, sooner and as close to home as possible.
“In addition to expanding clinical opportunities, this new modern facility will further enhance patient care, confidentiality and comfort for people in this region, and provide a better working environment,” shares Jane Curtis, CEO for Southern Health–Santé Sud. “I would like to acknowledge the commitment and collaborative spirit of the community and partnerships, including the Portage District General Hospital Foundation and the province.”
The announcement of a new hospital in Portage la Prairie follows a nearly $70-million announcement committing to the expansion and renovation of the Brandon Regional Health Centre and Western Manitoba Cancer Centre, which will establish Brandon as a centralized location for many specialized health services across western Manitoba, the premier noted.
Today’s announcement also builds on other major infrastructure investments at health facilities throughout the province in recent years, including construction of the Selkirk Regional Health Centre and new emergency departments in Flin Flon and Dauphin and at Winnipeg’s Grace and St. Boniface hospitals.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION ATTACHED
Backgrounder
Background Information - https://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/newslinks/2021/BG-CPSP_Portage_Hospital-PR-HSC.pdf