B+H Celebrates Grand Opening of the Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Centre at Michael Garron Hospital
A Community Hub for Health and Wellness
Today Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) celebrates the grand opening of Ontario’s newest hospital facility, the eight-storey Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre (Thomson Centre). The project was constructed in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Infrastructure Ontario and EllisDon with design provided by B+H and Diamond Schmitt Architects.
The Thomson Centre is the largest redevelopment project in the hospital’s history and is the centrepiece of MGH’s broader campus transformation initiative which will include renovations to existing areas of the hospital, decommissioning of outdated wings and the addition of new greenery and landscaping to welcome the community to the new facility.
B+H is honoured to work with a collective of likeminded firms to play a role in realizing the Michael Garron Hospital campus transformation vision. The new Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre serves as a community hub that will efficiently care for the diverse needs of a growing population within a new healthcare experience that shifts from an ‘inside out’ to an ‘outside in’ perspective. – Chris McQuillan, Principal
The Thomson Centre adds 550,000 square feet to the hospital, with 215 inpatient beds and two floors of brand new outpatient clinics that offer patients light-filled surroundings and greater privacy, bringing dignity and respite as they heal and recover.
A new hub for health and wellness in the heart of a growing community
East Toronto is one of Ontario’s most diverse communities, with more than 400,000 residents and 22 distinct neighbourhoods, including priority neighbourhoods such as Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park and Taylor-Massey. The community has a broad spectrum of health and social care needs, including a higher prevalence of chronic, complex illnesses and mental health challenges than the general population. Since the hospital’s founding nearly 100 years ago, the community’s demographics and healthcare needs have changed. The Thomson Centre was designed to address these evolving needs.
Beginning as a gift to eastern Toronto from local community leaders, MGH has been a landmark in this ethnically diverse community for generations. Over time, MGH has grown to support demands on acute episodic care, but had not adapted to support chronic healthcare needs nor was it equipped to support a more ‘wellness’ focused approach to care delivery. Chronic care and care for wellness require a long-term relationship among caregivers, patients and their families – which the old MGH was not originally built to support.
Our approach to the MGH Patient Care Tower actively uses design itself to promote healing, recovery, and well-being. The transformation begins with the site which has been opened up to create ample drop-offs, clear visual connections to interior destinations and therapeutic and restful outdoor spaces.
Some of the features in MGH’s Thomson Centre include:
- 215 patient beds
- Flexible medical and surgical inpatient units
- Two inpatient mental health units
- Over 80,000 sq.ft. of state-of-the-art multidisciplinary ambulatory care
- Chronic Disease Unit (outpatient)
- Dedicated multi-functional and adaptive ambulatory procedures unit with eight procedure rooms
- Carswell Family Centre for Medical Education
- Healthcare Simulation Centre
- Public areas including a food court and new retail spaces