Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre

For other hospitals with the same name, see Victoria Hospital. Hospital in Ontario, Canada

Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre

Location in Ontario
Geography
Location	201 Georgian Drive, Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates	44°24′50″N 79°39′40″W / 44.4140°N 79.6612°W / 44.4140; -79.6612
Organization
Care system	Medicare (Canada)
Type	General
Affiliated university	University of Toronto
Services
Beds	319
Helipad	TC LID: CRV2
Public transit access	Barrie Transit Simcoe County LINX
History
Former name(s)	Barrie General Hospital; Royal Victoria Hospital
Opened	1891
Links
Website	www.rvh.on.ca
Lists	Hospitals in Canada

The Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (formerly the Royal Victoria Hospital) is a Level III trauma centre with enhanced district stroke designation, serving the needs of the population of the City of Barrie and the surrounding area. The facility is located at 201 Georgian Drive in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The CEO is Gail Hunt. As of 2017, the hospital operated on a $340 million annual budget.

The Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre is a 299-bed acute care facility. With a team of over 380 physicians, 2,500 staff members and 850 volunteers, the RVH provides healthcare specializing in cancer care, surgical services, critical care, mental health rehabilitation services, as well as women and children's programs.

The Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre is the only hospital in Barrie and is the regional hospital for a large geographical region including central Simcoe County Barrie, Innisfil (Alcona, Stroud, Gilford), Springwater (Elmvale, Midhurst, Minesing, Snow Valley), south Oro- Medonte (Horseshoe Valley, Shanty Bay), a small portion of Essa Township (Ivy, Thornton).

The hospital dates to 1891, when it was known as the Barrie General Hospital, which was located in a home at 105 Duckworth Street near Ardagh's Grove. The facility has relocated and expanded many times since its inception:

1897 BGH relocated to 63 High Street to R.E. Fletcher House and becomes RVH (since demolished)
1903 RVH relocated to purpose-built site at 76 Ross Street
1910-1911 Strathy Wing built
1952 Memorial Wing opened
1962-1963 Ross Street expansion (original 1903 and 1911 Strathy wing demolished)
1997 current site completed and old RVH repurposed as Victoria Village Seniors Retirement Community)

Etymology

The Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre was named after Queen Victoria as Queen of Canada from Canada's confederation in 1867–1901.

Facilities

The number of beds is broken down as follows

21 Critical Care beds
36 Mental Health beds
8 child and youth mental health beds
170 General Medical/Surgical beds
22 Obstetrical beds
8 Paediatric beds
14 Rehabilitation beds
70 field hospital beds in the Regional Pandemic Response Unit
Advanced Level II Special Care Nursery

There are in excess of 85,000 visits to the Emergency Department, annually. RVH has 2,000 births each year. Since opening in 1997, activities across the board have virtually doubled.

The helipad for the hospital is found at ground level across from Georgian College Residences and requires ambulance transfer to the hospital's emergency department.

Expansion

In 2009, Royal Victoria Hospital embarked on the largest capital project in its history. The expansion program was broken into Phase 1 and Phase 2. Construction of the main phase was concluded in the spring of 2012.

Phase 1

Phase one included a $450 million redevelopment and expansion project that almost doubled the size of the hospital, adding 400,000 square feet (37,000 m) of space, and capacity for 165 additional inpatient beds, including a dedicated Coronary Care Unit; significant expansions of the Emergency Department, Diagnostic Imaging and Laboratory and two additional Operating Rooms. In addition to the significant expansion, another 100,000 square feet (9,300 m) of the current facility received renovations.

The main features of the Phase 1 expansion included:

The Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre, which will log more than 65,000 patient visits in its first year
165 new inpatient beds, including a dedicated Coronary Care Unit for critically ill cardiac patients
An Emergency Department that will triple in size and includes trauma, isolation areas, a clinical decision unit and mental health suite.
An expanded Diagnostic Imaging Department will double in size to increase patient flow and privacy
An expanded Laboratory
Two new Operating Rooms which are larger than existing suites for complex surgeries
Expansion space for two future patient care units
"Rotary House", a residential lodge for cancer patients and their families who live more than 40 kilometers outside Barrie.

Phase 2

As Phase 1 nears completion, Phase 2 was to begin. Phase 2 was planned to consist of significant renovations to the existing hospital, including construction of new operating rooms, more patient beds, construction/update to the special care nursery (neonatal unit) and an expansion to the surgical unit.

Phase 3

Phase 3 involves the building of a nine-story patient care tower.

Innisfil Phase 1

Plans were announced in 2021 to build a second campus in nearby Innisfil, Ontario.

Regional Pandemic Response Unit

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Regional Pandemic Response Unit (PRU) was built, opening on November 27, 2020. The PRU was erected in the hospital parking lot. Although it has a tent-like appearance, it is suitable for any kind of weather, and is equipped with appropriate heating and cooling units.

This fully-functioning, 70-bed field hospital is not intended to directly care for COVID-19 patients, but rather is meant to alleviate patient overflow challenges. As such, it is one of only three such sites in the province and allows RVH to assist overloaded zones like Toronto.

Awards

Gold Quality Healthcare Workplace Award: Recognized by the Ontario Hospital Association for fostering a healthy and safe workplace.

References

^ "RVH Strategic Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
"Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre - Quick Facts" (PDF). Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
"Group B - Classification of Hospitals". Ministry of Health and Longterm Care. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
"CADORS: Glossary of Terms". Transport Canada. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
Grech, Sean (31 October 2017). "County of Simcoe pledges $5.6M to RVH". CTV Barrie. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
McInroy, Ian (19 June 2017). "Barrie's Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre celebrates 120 years". The Barrie Examiner. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
"RVH is a Level III Trauma Centre". Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. Archived from the original on 18 December 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
"CorHealth Ontario". www.corhealthontario.ca. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
"GBGH CEO resigns to pursue leadership opportunity at Barrie health centre". Welcome to Georgian Bay General Hospital. Midland, Ontario: Georgian Bay General Hospital. 6 April 2022. Archived from the original on 18 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
"Staff reductions, energy conservation help Barrie's RVH balance budget". Barrie, ON: The Barrie Examiner. 14 February 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
"General Information". Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
"Who We Are". Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. Archived from the original on 18 December 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
^ "THEN & NOW: Barrie General Hospital". BarrieToday.com. Barrie Today. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
^ https://www.rvh.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/RVH-TIMELINE-web.pdf
"Our History". Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
Burton, Bob (4 October 2017). "Barrie hospital looking to grow". The Barrie Examiner. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017.
"Tatham Engineering donates $10K to RVH". BarrieToday.com. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
Glover, Brett (16 October 2023). "Barrie's Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre continues efforts to build south campus in Innisfil". Simcoe.com. Barrie Advance. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
"Ford touches on RVH south campus expansion plans during Barrie visit". CTV Barrie. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
^ Glover, Brett (6 January 2021). "Barrie pandemic response unit well-utilized since November opening – Barrie 360". Barrie 360. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
"Home". www.rvh.on.ca. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
Jones, Kristie (22 January 2015). "Making staff wellness a top priority". Hospital News. Retrieved 4 November 2024.