Grand River Hospital Gets Additional Neonatal Intensive Care Beds Ontario is adding two neonatal intensive care beds at Grand River Hospital to ensure more newborns can get better access to intensive care closer to home. The beds are for babies that are born prematurely or at term with special medical needs and who require critical care. Ontario is adding 43 beds province-wide.

These new neonatal beds will help Ontario enhance maternal and neonatal care across the province and ensure that more moms and babies have access to this essential health care service.

“Parents can rest assured that their children will receive the health care they need more quickly," said Leeanna Pendergast, MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga. "Labour and delivery can be a very stressful time for both mother and infant and these 2 additional neonatal intensive care beds will provide families with better access to these necessary services."

“This announcement is good news for parents in our community,” said John Milloy, MPP for Kitchener Centre. “Expanding our local neonatal intensive care unit is a much-needed and important step to ensure access to these specialized services.”

"The addition of four neonatal intensive care beds in Waterloo Wellington supports local families to have their babies cared for in a hospital close to home," said Sandra Hanmer, CEO, Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (WWLHIN). "The new beds will also assist our health care partners that provide these specialized services at our referring hospitals to focus on providing care for the more seriously ill or premature newborns."

"This is a positive step for the families of the K-W region and their pending new arrivals. It will enable us to further offer expanded NICU services to these families as the region grows. It will allow families to obtain care closer to home and facilitate transfers of neonates back home from our university centre partner NICUs," said Dr. Ian Wilson, medical director of the Grand River Hospital Children's Program.