What you need to know about the massive hospital coming to Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Que. | CBC

The long-anticipated Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital is taking shape, three years after construction work began in the region just west of Montreal. 

“It’s really advanced at this time,” said Olivier Séguin, the assistant director of planning and monitoring in the major infrastructure projects division at the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest, the local health authority. 

“It looks more and more like a real hospital. It’s less and less like a building under construction.”

Despite the hospital’s opening being repeatedly delayed, around 1,850 workers have been working every day to deliver the state-of-the-art facility to residents.

The $2.6-billion project will almost double the number of hospital beds in the Montérégie-Ouest, serving a rapidly growing population.

However, questions remain about how staffing is shaping up, and how it might affect other nearby hospitals.

Here’s what you need to know. 

Meeting a critical need in the region

The new hospital is intended to answer the needs of a rapidly growing population — one that is outpacing the provincial average. 

According to the local health authority, the population is projected to increase by 20 per cent by 2036. 

Without a hospital of their own, Vaudreuil-Soulanges residents currently have to commute to the neighbouring Lakeshore General Hospital in Pointe-Claire, Suroît Regional Hospital in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield or even to Ontario for the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital.

Once fully operational, the new hospital will include 11 operating rooms, an emergency room with 41 stretchers and 404 beds. 

Caroline Bourassa-Fulop, medical and professional services director at the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest, says an indicator they use to assess acute care capacity in a region is how many hospital beds there are per 1,000 residents.

“Here in Montérégie-Ouest, we have one of the lowest in Quebec. So we have 0.97 beds per 1,000 residents,” Bourassa-Fulop said.  

“This hospital will augment our number to 1.65 beds … and that will give us better access to care for the population.” 

In Quebec, the average is closer to 2.3 beds per 1,000 inhabitants.

Concerns over siphoning staff away from other hospitals

Since its inception, concerns have been raised over how the hospital will attract its planned 4,000 employees and roughly 250 doctors.

But officials say the recruitment process will be done progressively.

“Obviously, this will not happen all at once and will not be required for the first year,” said Bourassa-Fulop.

She says they are hoping to recruit about 115 doctors at the end of the first year of the hospital’s opening – reaching about 40 to 50 per cent of their recruitment goal. Currently, they are at 12 per cent of that target.

“We are really recruiting with residents internationally. We’re going to start a big campaign as well in the fall really to promote this recruiting process,” said Bourassa-Fulop.

The CISSS says it’s also been working with neighbouring regional health authorities as to not disturb the ecosystem of the entire health network.

“We do want experienced doctors to be part of the foundation of this hospital. And a lot of those doctors are working in our actual installations and will be working in more than one space,” she said. 

The health authority says it’s been planning for the opening and staffing of the hospital for years.

“We started posting some positions as early as 2024 … to be able to see where staff will move and make sure it won’t drain specifically one area,” she said.

Infrastructure upgrades to simplify travel 

Construction work is underway to facilitate travel to the future hospital. 

The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion has a number of major works planned for the area, including the construction of two roundabouts east of Highway 30, the reconstruction of two intersections near the future hospital and the construction of a one kilometre, multi-use path that will connect to the hospital.

Quebec’s Transport Ministry closed Route 340 between de la Gare Boulevard and Jean Béliveau Street on Aug. 2 until the end of October to build the roundabout at the intersection of Henry Ford Street.

As of Aug. 10, traffic is alternating until mid-September on Cité-des-Jeunes Boulevard between Émile Bouchard and Floralies streets for a new phase of the redevelopment project.

When will the hospital open to patients?

While construction of the hospital is expected to be completed by summer 2027, it will only gradually open to the public in summer 2028. 

Staff members will receive technical and clinical training over a nine-month preparation period before beginning to see patients. 

The hospital will offer a broad range of general and specialized medical services including neonatology starting at 32 weeks, bariatric surgery, breast reconstruction surgery, pediatrics, and emergency and daily medical care, among other specializations.