Ontario’s Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), one of the world’s largest and most respected pediatric hospitals, will be receiving $2.4 billion as part of the province’s 2018 budget to build a new Patient Care Centre.

The investment will go towards the design and construction of the new Patient Care Centre, part of a massive redevelopment that will modernize aging equipment and spaces and provide more space to increase the hospital’s capacity. The new facility will house vital services, including emergency and critical care, surgical care, bone marrow transplants, as well as diagnostic services and specialty clinics.

“This historic and important investment will ensure that we are able to deliver safe, cutting-edge care to the most critically ill children in Ontario for generations to come,” said Dr. Michael Apkon, president and CEO of the Hospital for Sick Children, in a press release. “It will allow us to build a state-of-the-art facility that will continue to give patients and families hope and comfort as they face serious illness and injury. A redeveloped SickKids will also attract more of the world’s top clinicians and researchers to join SickKids in our fight against childhood illness and disease.”

SickKids is the largest pediatric centre in the country and is the only hospital in Ontario that conducts pediatric heart transplants, bone marrow transplants and most solid organ transplants.

Ontario is investing over $19 billion over the next 10 years to improve and expand hospitals across the province. There are currently 40 major hospital projects either under construction or in the planning stages. In addition to building new hospitals, the province is also increasing operating funding for hospitals by $822 million in 2018-19. As part of this investment in operations, SickKids is also receiving a funding increase of $15.4 million in 2018-19.