Now, Ontario’s provincial government is embarking on the largest expansion ever of these private, for-profit, community surgical and diagnostic centres. Premier Doug Ford revealed plans to invest $155 million over the next two years to establish 57 new centres aimed at improving health care access for residents.
Perhaps the most exciting feature of this new initiative is the firm commitment to it from the Walter and Maria Schroeder Foundation. They’ve committed an incredible $300 million in investments to jumpstart the construction of these new facilities. This funding will play a crucial role in addressing the growing demand for medical imaging and endoscopy services in the province.
As part of the expansion they are opening 35 new specialized centres for MRI and CT scans. These new facilities are on track to provide in-person care to more than 800,000 unique patients each year within the next two years. They will greatly reduce wait times for important diagnostic procedures. On top of that, 22 of these centres will be dedicated to carrying out as many as 420,000 additional endoscopy procedures by the same date.
In a further landmark achievement, the Foundation of the Schroeder Ambulatory Centre has recently been granted its first license. This makes them uniquely positioned to run one of the new centres. The province is putting $14 million into this new ambulatory centre. Thanks to this funding, the centre will be able to provide MRIs, CT scans, and endoscopy procedures to more than 115,000 patients in the next two years.
In the face of allegations of favoritism in the licensing process, Health Minister Sylvia Jones promised to improve transparency. She emphasized that “no special favours were given to the new ambulatory centre,” noting that it was built without any assurances of a license upon application.
Jones highlighted the significance of the Schroeder Foundation’s commitment, stating, “This facility truly is and was a leap of faith for them to show their commitment to Ontario and our community and the health-care system.” She reiterated that there were “no commitments guaranteed” for the foundation’s investment, highlighting their commitment to being responsive to community needs.
Schroeder Ambulatory Centre Foundation board member Raj Kothari recently told the Chicago Tribune that he is hopeful the project will have a beneficial long-term effect. “We are created with a simple but powerful mission to reduce pain, increase mobility and improve health-care efficiency for Ontarians,” he stated. Kothari noted that as a non-profit organization, “every dollar we generate is reinvested directly into patient care, expanding services and supporting the broader health system.”
