The new Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital will officially operate as a full-service hospital starting today after opening exclusively to COVID-19 patients earlier this year.

The hospital first opened its doors in February 2021 and in response to the significant strain on Ontario’s hospital system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital was used to house critically ill patients infected with the novel coronavirus.

“After years of planning and construction, and after initially opening exclusively to support the provincial pandemic response in February, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital will fully open to the community later this week,” a spokesperson for Mackenzie Health said in a news release.

“Programs planned to transfer from Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital to Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, including the Woman and Child, Inpatient Mental Health and Inpatient Integrated Stroke programs, will open at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, along with its emergency department and other core services.”

The facility will serve residents of Vaughan, Richmond Hill, and King Township.

Hospital welcomes its first babies

The hospital announced Sunday afternoon that it has delivered its first babies – twins.

Mark and Scarlett were born a minute apart just before 1:30 p.m.

“Mackenzie Health congratulates Amanda and Justin on the new additions to their family,” the hospital said in a statement.

The pair are the first babies born in the new Women and Child space, which the hospital said is equipped for up to 4,000 births a year.