Redevelopment FAQ

Campbellford Memorial Hospital (CMH) is a 34-bed health care facility located in Trent Hills. It serves approximately 40,000 Northumberland, Peterborough and Hastings County residents as well as a large seasonal population of cottagers and tourists enjoying the beautiful Kawartha Lakes Region and the Trent River System.

As the only hospital located between Belleville and Peterborough, Ontario, CMH provides a comprehensive array of acute care services including a Special Care Unit, Endoscopy Surgical Suite, Diagnostic Imaging Department, Laboratory, numerous Out-Patient Clinics, 24/7 Emergency Department and numerous community programs including Mental Health, Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Network Clinic (GAIN), and Supportive Housing.

Portions of CMH are nearly 70 years old and have had minimal upgrades since it was first built in a time when things like private rooms were not considered necessary.

CMH is currently facing more than $25 million in facility repairs and replacements that will be required over the next 25 years (and this amount is expected to increase). The pandemic has also underscored significant infection prevention and control gaps (e.g. no negative pressures areas, limited private rooms, and insufficient air filtration) that have stymied the flow of admissions during outbreaks because of the inability to cohort patients. Finally, the hospital faces ongoing capacity pressures in the Emergency Department and the Inpatient Medical Wing, which will continue to worsen due to population growth and changing demographics. A new and expanded facility will mitigate these pressures.

A new hospital as part of a Campus of Care will also significantly help strengthen the community’s physician recruitment efforts by providing a modern facility that has the adequate capacity, and optimal environment for high-quality patient care.

Through a generous donation from Jim Curle and his family, the future site of Campbellford Memorial Hospital as part of a Campus of Care will be located on 48 acres of land on County Road 30 immediately west of Campbellford. Once complete, the Campus of Care will include:

• New Hospital
• New Long Term Care Home
• Community Mental Health Clinic
• Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Network (GAIN Program)
• Supportive Senior Housing (Future Plans)

The hospital corporation needs to demonstrate to the government it has a well thought out plan for the construction of a new hospital. One visible measure is confirmation of a new site. In addition, our partner Long Term Care (LTC) operator, whom we have recently signed an MOU with to develop our new facilitates on the same site, has an immediate need to commence construction of their new and expanded facility as they have a targeted completion by the end of 2025 in order to meet provincial licencing requirements. The identification of a site also allows work to begin on the detailed planning and design process of the new hospital.

There is a capital planning process defined by the Ministry of Health outlining various design approval steps. This process is expected to take 3 years. Construction is expected to take an additional 4 years.

The land is being donated to Campbellford Memorial Hospital (CMH). It will own the land and look to lease portions of the property to other health care providers as the campus evolves.

We have completed the first two steps (pre-capital and Stage 1) of the capital planning process. The next step is approval of a critically important planning grant to undertake additional planning, noted in step 2. This approval will come from the Minister of Health.

CMH undertook an extensive analysis of renovating the current site. It determined that renovations could not be completed in a manner without significant disruption to services, significant costs, and limited opportunities to improve the functionality of the hospital. Additionally, the hospital is land locked making expanding the existing site impossible.

The hospital consulted with a number of other hospitals and reviewed planning guidelines to create criteria for the evaluation of potential sites. A total of five sites were evaluated. Two sites had the greatest potential and match with the criteria. In the end, the property on County Road 30 had the highest match with the criteria.

In summer 2022, the hospital published a list of criteria to guide hospital site selection and invited public comment. Nearly four dozen formal submissions were received, more than 90% of which were in agreement with the published site selection criteria. The majority of respondents also encouraged the hospital to choose a site that was centrally located, easy to access and not a barrier to those with accessibility concerns.

There are no plans at the present time for the current hospital once it is vacated. The process to determine next steps for the existing property will occur in the years to come once timelines are confirmed for the opening of the new hospital.

The hospital conducted a detailed analysis of land parcels within and near Campbellford. There were no parcels of sufficient size to accommodate the future hospital. Proximity to services as well as site elevation are important considerations as well. The hospital is extremely grateful to Jim Curle and the Curle Family for the donation of some of their land to secure a future hospital site.

We believe that the site can be designed to fit well into this environment, including as much green space as possible, incorporating buffers, walking paths and park-like settings to be enjoyed by our patients, long-term care residents, staff and the community.

We will be working closely with the Municipality of Trent Hills and the County of Northumberland to determine traffic changes and requirements to ensure safe access points, and on-site circulation.

The hospital is considering ways to begin that process in the near future.

Some planning processes have established opportunities for public input. In addition, the hospital will also be sharing information with the public on a regular basis as planning for the new hospital unfolds and determining appropriate points for community input.

Campuses of Care offer a continuum of community support programs, health care services, housing options and LTC home beds in one location and are a proven means of supporting aging populations and sustaining health care systems.

Our first priority is to build a new hospital as well as establish a new long-term care home to serve our growing community. We also plan to relocate our community mental health program and GAIN (Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Network) program to the Campus of Care. Other elements of the Campus concept will depend on the establishment of new partnerships. The site will be planned to accommodate these potential complimentary uses.

Yes. We have a Memorandum of Understanding with Omni Health to redevelop and expand the existing Burnbrae Gardens Long-Term Care Home on the Campus of Care site. Omni Health also recently received approval from the Ministry of Long Term Care to expand Burnbrae Gardens from 43 beds to 128, so long as construction is started by 2025.

We have also begun exploratory conversations with local housing providers about developing housing projects on the Campus of Care site.

When we begin planning for the new hospital programing, all aspects of our operations, including emergency services such as the location of the heliport, will be reviewed.

There are a variety of factors that can influence overall costs such as inflation, supply chain issues, and costs of materials and labour, which make it difficult to pinpoint an exact amount. However, we estimate it will cost around $350 million to build the new hospital. Once approved, approximately 70% of the new hospital cost will be funded by the Government of Ontario with the remaining 30% coming from the local community and fundraising efforts led by our Foundation. Further details will be announced when we are ready to launch our capital fundraising campaign

Even in a best-case scenario, it will take 7-10 years until a new hospital is complete. Facility upgrades remain vital so we can continue to offer the highest quality, and safest care possible. In regards to this specific announcement, the majority of the funds are being used to replace our end of life generator, and upgrade and repair our HVAC systems. Both of these investments were required in order to sustain the current operations of the hospital.

After we receive our capital-planning grant, part of the process will be to determine what kind of programs and services should be offered at the new hospital. Community members are encouraged to provide feedback on what they would like to see at our new hospital by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More information on how you can help is available at www.newcmhnow.ca

You can learn more and find information on the latest updates anytime by visiting www.cmh.ca/redevelopment