First women’s and children’s hospital in Ontario has a name and it’s being built in Mississauga

A new hospital being built in Mississauga that will be Ontario’s first health-care facility to focus exclusively on the well-being of women and children now has a name — and a significant amount of money supporting it.

The 200,000-sq.-ft. Shah Family Hospital for Women and Children will take shape inside the larger Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital, a state-of-the-art facility to be built over the next decade or so on the same site as the current hospital at Hurontario Street and The Queensway.

Construction of the women’s and children’s facility will begin in 2025, as will work on the larger hospital, officials with Trillium Health Partners and the Trillium Health Partners Foundation said in a news release announcing both the hospital name and a “monumental (financial) gift from the Shah Family Foundation.”

THP is the umbrella health-care organization that operates Mississauga and Credit Valley hospitals in addition to the Queensway Health Centre on the Mississauga-Etobicoke border. The organization’s foundation raises funds for expansion of the large health network that provides services for all of Mississauga and parts of Brampton and Toronto — some 2.2 million people in total.

The amount of the donation is not known at the request of the Shah Family Foundation. The Mississauga-based foundation was established in 2022 to “support communities globally through equitable education and health-care access.”

Rendering of the new Mississauga Hospital, to be completed in the next decade or so. The women’s and children’s hospital will be located within the larger health-care facility. (Image: Trillium Health Partners)

Hospital officials in Mississauga described the significant donation as one “which will advance the health and wellbeing of women and children in our community for generations to come.”

When complete, “this specialty hospital will be … purpose-built with the unique needs of women, children and their families in mind,” officials continued. “It will offer an array of highly specialized services, integrated care for a seamless experience and health system partnerships that will profoundly impact the health of the community from prenatal care to birth, infancy, adolescence and beyond, including all stages of life for women.”

The hospital says it’s committed to providing safe environments for people and families accessing reproductive, gynecological, pediatric and postpartum care.

8,000 births each year

THP officials add their three hospitals are where some 8,000 births take place each year, more than any other hospital in Canada. They said building for the future “so we can deliver accessible, reliable, expert care for women and children” for generations to come is paramount in ensuring the overall health of the community.

“The Shah Family Foundation understands how important health care for women and children is to fostering healthy families, healthier communities and thriving cities,” THP foundation president and CEO Caroline Riseboro said, adding “we are immensely grateful for this historic donation.”

The new women’s and children’s hospital will include key features such as:

• a full suite of highly specialized reproductive, gynecological, neonatal and children’s health services
• 31 modern birthing suites for parents and families
• 53 postpartum beds
• an expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with specially designed couplet suites to accommodate parents and babies staying together when both require inpatient care
• 36 pediatric beds, including 12 new dedicated mental health inpatient beds for children and youth — a first for the region, hospital officials said
• state-of-the-art surgical suites to accommodate specialized procedures closer to home
• a dedicated pediatric zone in the new hospital’s emergency department

“This new hospital will test the limits of what is possible, creating a new pathway of care, access and opportunity for Mississauga and west Toronto,” said THP president and CEO Karli Farrow. “We know that investing in the health of children and women through all phases of life is investing in the health of our community as a whole.”

Kris Shah, president of the Shah Family Foundation, said it’s a natural fit for the foundation to support the new hospital.

“Trillium Health Partners has played a key role in providing essential health-care services in Mississauga and the surrounding area. We are profoundly grateful for the opportunity to give back to this community,” said Shah. “We believe enhancing health care is a shared responsibility that benefits everyone, and it is our sincere hope that this gift inspires others to contribute in their own way.”

Once completed, the Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital, named after the local developer/philanthropist who early in 2022 gifted $105 million to the project, will stand at 24 storeys. 

Construction will begin sometime in 2025. A completion date has not yet been set, but officials said earlier it’ll be about a decade or so down the road.