​The first patient transfer from Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital arrived at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital on Sunday, February 7, 2021.

In early 2021, just weeks before Mackenzie Health was scheduled to open Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, the COVID-19 landscape in Ontario was grim. Cases were rising across the province at an alarming rate. Hospitals were reaching capacity and many were projected to run out of critical care beds by the end of the month. On February 7, 2021, Mackenzie Health opened its second hospital, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, with an exclusive focus on creating additional ICU and acute care capacity to help address the surge in COVID-19 cases and alleviate capacity pressures faced by Ontario hospitals.

Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital is the first net new hospital to be built in Ontario in more than three decades and the first hospital to be built in Vaughan. While it was slated to open as a full-service hospital, the opening instead temporarily focused on adding 35 ICU beds and 150 general internal medicine beds to support the province's Incident Management System (IMS). Once the surge has stabilized, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital will fully open as originally intended.

"Mackenzie Health is proud to provide a unique system solution in our collective fight against COVID-19," said Mackenzie Health President and CEO, Altaf Stationwala. "The province needed us to open Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital in this way, and we've answered that call. I can't thank our incredible staff, physicians and volunteers enough. They stepped forward without hesitation to make this a reality."

Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital was purposefully built with mostly single patient rooms, which allow for enhanced infection prevention and control protocols in addition to technological advances that make it Canada's first smart hospital. It is also located right off Highway 400, in close proximity to the hardest hit regions in the province — York, Peel and Toronto. The Emergency Department at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital is closed at this time. The Emergency Department at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital remains open to the support the community, as it always has. Once the system has stabilized, Mackenzie Health will fully open Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital as originally committed to staff, physicians, volunteers and the community, and realize its two-hospital future with specialty programs serving the community at each site. Mackenzie Health's Woman and Child, Inpatient Mental Health and Inpatient Integrated Stroke programs will transfer to the new hospital and an extensive range of outpatient clinics, the chronic kidney disease program, complex continuing care and rehabilitation will remain at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital. 

"I want to thank Mackenzie Health for stepping up to support our response to COVID-19 and taking pressure off other hospitals in the region at this critical time," said the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario. "Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital is the first net new hospital built in Ontario in over 30 years and represents another important step towards ending hallway health care in the province."

The Ontario government invested $1.3 billion towards the $1.7 billion Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital project. The local share, required to help cover costs for technology and medical equipment as well as a portion of the construction costs, continues to be supported by the generosity of the community through the Ultimate campaign. To date, the campaign has raised more than $181 million of the $250 million goal.