It's the single largest financial gift ever made in Windsor-Essex.
On Monday, the Solcz Family Foundation announced a $15 million gift to support the new Windsor-Essex Acute Care Hospital.
The money will be used to provide critical funding for equipment and technologies at the future hospital off County Road 42 and the 9th Concession.
Foundation executive director Kyrsten Solcz says Windsor-Essex needs a new hospital, and they're glad to be a part of it.
"Children, youth, and families are our priority at the Solcz Family Foundation. With that also, the new hospital is going to affect every single demographic. So while our funding is supporting that in particular, future funding for this hospital is going to support every single demographic that will enter the doors of this hospital," she says.
As a result of the financial gift, the family birthing and paediatric care centre, as well as the paediatric emergency zone, located within the emergency department, will be named after the Solcz Family Foundation.
Solcz says they've been planning this for seven years.
"A lot of discussions, talks. We didn't know exactly the amount from get-go. We didn't know the timing, but this is the amount it came to, but we're just very excited and proud to announce it," she says.
The family birthing centre and paediatric care centre are expected to take up the entire fourth floor of the new hospital.
The paediatric emergency zone will allow hospital officials to provide separation between adults and parents and their children when they go to the emergency department for treatment.
David Musyj, project lead for the acute care hospital, says they try their best to separate children and their parents from other adults as best as they can, and this new hospital will help provide that space.
"So if a child has to come to the emergency department, they have a specialized area where they can be with children, and the paediatricians can be there along with emergency room physicians. So those are just some of the amenities that add value to someone's stay at the hospital," he says.
As of now, shovels are expected to be in the ground sometime in 2026, but Health Minister Sylvia Jones hinted during Monday's gift announcement that the timeline could be moved up.
Musyj says anytime Premier Ford or Minister Jones says something is going to happen, it happens.
"That's my history with them; they don't pull any punches. If they say something is going to happen, it's going to happen. There's been a lot of talk about moving this sooner rather than later. We just have to go through some procurement processes and get this thing going," he says.
As for when the hospital could be completed, Musyj says they won't know until the project goes to tender, and once it's awarded, they will work with the contractor to figure out how long it will take to complete the project.