More Hospital Beds, Faster Care for Families in East Toronto

Ontario is helping patients in east Toronto get faster access to high-quality health care by expanding and modernizing Michael Garron Hospital to meet the needs of the growing community.

Dr. Helena Jaczek, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, was at Michael Garron Hospital, formerly Toronto East General Hospital, to celebrate the start of the largest construction project in the hospital’s history.

The project includes a new eight-storey patient care tower and a three-storey building that will connect to the current structure. Renovations will also be made to the existing building.

When the project is complete, patients in east Toronto will benefit from:  215 larger, safer inpatient beds, including 15 new beds; more single-patient rooms, improving privacy, safety and infection control; redeveloped mental health inpatient units for adult, child and youth care; new renal, cardiac and chest care clinics, co-located for easy access; increased use of natural light, green rooftops and lush community landscaping; state-of-the-art equipment and technology to enhance patient care and workplace efficiency and new four-level parking lot.

Building and expanding hospitals is part of the government’s plan to support care, create opportunity and make life more affordable during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes free prescription drugs for everyone under 25, and 65 or over, through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, and free preschool child care from 2 ½ to kindergarten.