St. Joe’s Emergency Department Transformation Now Complete

West end Toronto emergency department is 40% larger, fully donor-funded

TORONTO, Feb. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation announced today that it has completed the transformation of its Emergency Department through 100 per cent donor-funding. The 40 per cent larger Emergency Department meets the unique needs of all patients, with new areas for ambulatory and geriatric care and better spaces for kids and those in crisis due to mental illness.

“St. Joe’s has one of the busiest emergency departments in the city and we need to keep pace with the growing population in Toronto’s west end. Our patients deserve that, and so do our physicians and staff,” said Dr. Tim Rutledge, President & CEO at Unity Health Toronto.

The hospital, which turned 100 during the pandemic, began the first phase of the Emergency Department redevelopment in 2019 with the opening of the Mental Health Emergency Services Unit (MHESU), ensuring extraordinary care and support for patients with mental illness or addiction who come to the Emergency Department. That new, expanded unit has 70 per cent more private, calming and specialized spaces.

“Before this extraordinary transformation, our challenge was always space. The emergency team was seeing more than 100,000 visitors each year in an area built for 60,000. Our small footprint lacked room for large equipment, technology, and private areas for personal conversations,” said Dr. Joan Cheng, Chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Joseph’s Health Centre.

With help from donors, St. Joe’s was able to transform the Emergency Department and add the following extraordinary new zones:

• Created one of Canada’s first Geriatric Emergency Zones
• Opened a larger Mental Health Emergency Services Unit
• Created a new Ambulatory Yellow Zone
• Updated the Pediatric Emergency Zone
• Improved the registration area to refine the flow of patients
• Added specially designed screens for increased privacy

“Increasing capacity, including expanding the emergency area, isn’t just about more space; it’s about creating a healing environment. The new ED is designed with intention, weaving privacy into the fabric, and ensuring areas where patients feel safe to share their needs with our healthcare team – thereby fostering genuine care and comfort,” said Dr. Joan Cheng.

FAST FACTS: WEST END HEALTHCARE BY THE NUMBERS AT ST. JOE’S
The Emergency Department is the front door to St. Joe’s. It’s where Toronto’s west end comes for around-the-clock care when they need it most. On average, St. Joe’s has more than 100,000 visits annually, making it among the busiest emergency departments in the GTA.

• 500,000+ people live in the west-end community
• 100,000+ people come to St. Joe’s for emergency care each year
• 15,000+ people over the age of 65 come to the Emergency Department each year
• 14,000+ children come to St. Joe’s for emergency care each year
• 6,600+ emergency visits from people seeking mental health and addiction care each year

TIMELINE OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT TRANSFORMATION

• 2020 – When the pandemic hit, St. Joe’s quickly reconfigured and expanded areas of the hospital to keep patients and staff safe. Staff in the Health Records department started working virtually and plans to expand the Emergency Department accelerated to increase the footprint by 40 per cent.
• 2021 – Thanks to the donor support, the hospital started demolishing old areas to make room for the first phase of the Emergency Department redevelopment, a new Ambulatory Zone. St. Joe’s expanded Emergency Department was built in three phases, ensuring that 24/7 emergency care did not stop.
• 2022 – The New Ambulatory Care Zone (The Yellow Zone) was the first redeveloped zone to open, with 12 more patient treatment spaces, including two private patient rooms, two negative pressure rooms, and seven stretcher bays.
• 2023 – An improved Resuscitation Centre (The Red Zone) was the second phase of the Emergency Department redevelopment. This is a dedicated zone with advanced technology and equipment so St. Joe’s teams can respond quickly to patients who need immediate, life-saving care.
• 2024 – The Acute Internal Medicine Clinic (The Orange Zone) kicked off the final and largest phase of the Emergency Department redevelopment. The AIM Clinic offers close follow-up for Emergency patients who need urgent reassessment.
• 2024 – The Main Emergency Zone (The Blue Zone) was redeveloped. This improved area includes new partitioned screens between patients instead of traditional curtains, three enclosed rooms for greater privacy, and improved lighting throughout.
• 2024 – The Pediatric Emergency Zone (The Rainbow Zone) was refreshed for the more than 14,000 children and their families who visit St. Joe’s each year for emergency care. The Pediatric Zone is bright, with a large rainbow mural, and comfortable, flexible seating ensuring younger patients feel at ease. New interactive games help occupy kids, distracting from the pain or worry they may feel while waiting for tests or to be treated by emergency doctors.
• 2024 – The Green Zone is a new area for older adults that opened in Fall 2024. Among the first of its kind in Canada, the space is designed to help seniors feel more comfortable and safer. Features include accessibility design and rooms large enough for family members, support people, physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, and anyone else to give older adults the full range of care and compassion they need.

“St. Joe’s feels like a second home. I have been through so much, and everyone in the Emergency Department has always been a source of comfort for me. Whenever I need care, it just feels good going to St. Joe’s,” said Jenna Campea, Grateful Patient and Donor.

“Our donors have made an extraordinary difference in the promise to improve the Emergency Department at St. Joseph’s Health Centre. Thanks to them, our fully donor-funded Emergency Department transformation is now complete,” said Maria Dyck, President and CEO at St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation.

Explore the bigger, better Emergency Department at www.supportstjoes.ca

About St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation
St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation inspires community philanthropy to support compassionate physical, emotional, and spiritual care at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, a proud part of Unity Health Toronto. St. Joseph’s Health Centre Toronto is a Catholic community teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto and accredited with exemplary standing by Accreditation Canada. For over 100 years, St. Joe’s has been serving the health-care needs of the diverse communities of southwest Toronto. To learn more about how to support the best care experiences in the west end of Toronto, visit www.supportstjoes.ca

For more information, please contact:

Sierra LeBlanc | Account Executive
MAVERICK Public Relations
M: 647-405-2196
Sierra@wearemaverick.com