Ontario is adding $44-million-dollars to a fund for hospitals to help reduce E-R wait times.

The new funding is on top of 90-million-dollars a year from the province to reward E-Rs that put in place what the government calls innovative solutions to reduce wait times.

Provincial Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the fund is being expanded to allow smaller hospitals to qualify those that have fewer than 30-thousand E-R visits a year.

Ontario has already seen temporary emergency room closures at many hospitals across the province this year due to staffing challenges, largely in smaller and rural communities, and often through the overnight hours.