The new Portage Regional Health Centre is on track to complete construction by late 2025 or early 2026, with staff training, equipment setup and final preparations scheduled to follow in the months ahead.
"We expect to have operational control by early 2026," says Implementation Lead Kyle MacNair. "That’s when we’ll begin training staff, installing equipment, and preparing the site for patient care."
The full transfer of services from the current Portage hospital to the new facility is scheduled for mid-October 2026.
Emergency and inpatient services to shift in one day
MacNair says moving the hospital is not as simple as unlocking doors and walking in. The plan involves transporting a fully operational facility—including patients, staff, and essential medical equipment—while ensuring there is no lapse in care.
"It’s not just about opening the doors," he says. "We have to move an entire functioning hospital—patients, staff, equipment—without disrupting care."
He confirms the transition of core services like emergency and inpatient care will be completed in a single day.
"The emergency department might be operating in the old building at 10 a.m. and fully functional in the new building that afternoon," he says. "We can’t run both hospitals at once for very long."
To manage the logistics, Southern Health has partnered with a firm specializing in hospital relocations.
“We’re meeting with them weekly,” MacNair adds. “They’re helping us plan and execute every stage of the move.”
Learning from other large-scale transitions
Although this will be the largest transition Southern Health has ever handled, MacNair says the team is learning from similar projects in the province.
“We’ve taken a lot of insight from the Women’s Hospital in Winnipeg,” he says. “They moved a large hospital across town in one day, and we’re using their playbook.”
He also references earlier transitions in the region, such as the relocation from the old Notre Dame Hospital in the mid-2000s and the consolidation of Morden and Winkler hospitals into Boundary Trails in the late 1990s.
“But none of those were on this scale,” MacNair says. “This will be a new reference point for how future hospital transitions are managed in Manitoba.”
MacNair emphasizes that strong communication with the public will be key to a successful changeover.
“We appreciate the opportunity to share this information,” he says. “The more we can educate the public now, the smoother the transition will be when the time comes.”
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