County’s new hospital ‘built on unwavering commitment of the community’

Administrator | Nov 05, 2026 | Comments 0

Story and photos by Sharon Harrison
More than $29 million has been raised toward the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s Back the Build $30 million goal, with just over $600,000 to go for the new hospital build.

“Every gift has helped write this story,” said the foundation’s executive director, Shannon Coull.

Stacey Daub

“This isn’t just a hospital being built for the community, it is a hospital that is being built with the community,” added Stacey Daub, Quinte Health president and CEO, in the latest update on the progress of the new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital.

“But for me, our hospital will always be more than bricks and mortar: it is a house of healing, built on the dedication of extraordinary people and the unwavering commitment of the community, and now, linked together, we are writing its next chapter.”

Wednesday afternoon welcomed an interactive community update in the form of an open house held at the Prince Edward Community Centre, just a stone’s throw from the existing, and new, hospital sites. It was the fourth such progress update, and the second update this year, but this was the first in-person event which focused on meeting department staff and experts from areas of the hospital, along with the architectural team.

Daub said they wanted to do something different this time.

“We wanted to invite people to hear more about the hospital from the very people who work in the hospital, who have planned the hospital, who are building the hospital, who give their life commitment to working in the hospital, so it’s a real opportunity to meet some of the people behind Back the Build,” she said.

“I know what this hospital means to the community, and there is such tremendous pride in the hospital and I think tremendous equal interest in the future of what it’s going to look like, when it’s going to open, what services are going to be offered, and that’s exactly why we are here today.”

After some brief comments from Daub and Coull, a good crowd at the event browsed displays situated around the room. Experts were on hand from different hospital departments, along with the Back the Build team and the architectural team, where questions were welcomed, thoughts shared and conversations exchanged.

Here guests discovered what the new hospital will be like inside, what services it will offer, its design features, as well as learning the details of the unique construction, including a 3D model enthusiastically demonstrated by HDR’s Jason Emery Groen.

Coull called the new hospital build an “important once-in-a-lifetime project”.

“When we look around today and see how far this project has come, it’s hard not to reflect on the remarkable journey that brought us here,” she shared. “This new hospital began as a dream, a dream that our children, parents, grandparents, friends and neighbours would have access to exceptional care as close to home as possible – and that dream has become reality thanks to a community who believed in it.”

This hospital is designed for the future and there is a lot to be excited about with the building itself, said Daub who also spoke to the design itself.

“Our new hospital is being built using an innovative mass timber approach making it the first of its kind in North America for an acute care hospital,” she said. “With its beautiful natural light, welcoming spaces, healing gardens and environmentally-sustainable features, we are creating a hospital that not only supports excellent care, but also that reflects the natural beauty of where we all live.”

The $153.8 million building completion and handover to Quinte Health happening is expected for late fall 2027.

When the building is complete, the next phase is to get all the equipment into the building, test and make sure everything’s working before patients and staff move -expecting to occur in early 2028.

The new hospital will feature 23 private patient rooms, a modern emergency department, enhanced diagnostics services, ambulatory care, and for the first time in the County, a CT scanner.

Daub described how for more than a century, Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital has been a place of care, compassion and connection.

“I have met many people who have told me they were born at the hospital, many people talk to me about having surgery at the hospital, having used the emergency room, or being there with their loved ones as they had their last breath at the hospital. Generations of families have turned to the hospital during some of the most important, and sometimes the most difficult moments of their lives.”

She said the new hospital is just not designed to provide modern care as she touched on the importance peace of mind brings.

“You can’t imagine how many calls our maintenance department gets right now for the current hospital, it quite an endeavour to keep that hospital running,” she noted. “The peace of mind that this hospital is going to have knowing that it will be a modern hospital to serve residents and visitors for generations to come.”

Coull said the new hospital is more than a construction project.

“It’s an extraordinary community achievement. It’s a lasting legacy of care, compassion and commitment to one another. And while there is still work ahead, we are closer than ever to the day when the doors of our new hospital open and this community can see the impact of its generosity firsthand.”