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Construction Underway on New Fort St. John Hospital
Ground has officially been broken on construction of the new Fort St. John Hospital and Residential Care project.
July 22, 2009
FORT ST. JOHN – Ground was officially broken today on construction of the new Fort St. John Hospital and Residential Care project, with Peace River North MLA Pat Pimm, Senator Richard Neufeld, and representatives from Northern Health and the Peace River Regional Hospital District (PRRHD) on hand to mark the occasion.
"This new hospital and residential care project represents the first hospital replacement of this size in the North, and will be a crucial component of the continuum of care available to residents in the north east,” said Pimm, on behalf of Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon. “Not only are we building a brand new, state-of-the-art hospital, but we are also creating what will be a beautiful new home for our seniors.”
The new Fort St. John Hospital and Residential Care project is being constructed on a 40-acre parcel of land donated by the City of Fort St. John. It will include a 55-bed acute care hospital and a 123-bed residential care facility, along with an integrated services centre for food, laundry and materiel services. The new hospital will replace the aging existing facility, originally constructed in 1962. The 5,000-square-metre (54,000-square-foot) residential care development will replace the aging North Peace Care Centre in Fort St. John and add new residential care capacity in the area.
“It is very exciting to be moving forward on this project,” said Senator Neufeld, who served as chair on the Fort St. John Hospital Committee. “The new hospital will increase the number of acute care beds to 55, from 44 at the current facility. Fort St. John is growing rapidly, and these additional beds are needed to help accommodate the community’s future health care needs.”
The hospital will also include two new operating rooms and an endoscopy suite and incorporate single-room maternity care. The hospital and long-term care facilities will be designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, as part of the Province’s commitment to developing green, environmentally sustainable infrastructure.
In addition, the emergency department at the new hospital will be about two-and-a-half times larger than the ER at the existing hospital, to allow for an enhanced short stay function, for patients requiring less than a 24-hour stay. The clinical decision unit has also been enhanced to allow for monitoring and decision making on how to address patient issues, such as diagnosis, cast room function, cardiac testing, home visits, etc.
The balance of this space addresses all the necessary functions the current ER has, while reflecting a newer, more updated patient flow approach.
“The population in the Fort St. John area has grown exponentially since the existing hospital was first constructed,” said Northern Health board chair Dr. Charles Jago. “This project has been one of Northern Health’s top priorities, and we are extremely pleased to see shovels in the ground.”
The project is a public private partnership between Northern Health and ISL Health. Today’s groundbreaking signals the end of negotiations and the finalization of a fixed-price contract with ISL Health to design, build, finance and maintain the new facilities over a fixed-term of 30 years. In addition to constructing the new facilities, ISL Health will be responsible for building maintenance, lifecycle repair and renewal, and project financing over the life of the contract. All clinical services will be provided by the Province through Northern Health.
“This project will benefit our local community, and will provide a positive working environment for staff and volunteers,” said PRRHD chairperson Karen Goodings. “The north east of B.C. is a beautiful, welcoming place, and this new hospital and residential care facilities will become a model of excellence in rural health care.”
The total project cost is $297.9 million. This includes $98 million from the PRRHD, which includes a contribution of $95.7 million to the project and $2.3 million of PRRHD financing costs. The fixed-price contract makes certain that ISL Health assumes all construction (cost and schedule), design, long-term maintenance and operational risks, as well as other costs related to the project. ISL Health began preliminary site work in June following the signing of an early works agreement to allow crews to maximize the summer construction season in the north. Completion of the project is targeted for spring 2012.
“This is a momentous day for our community – with the start of construction we will begin to see our collective vision for improved health care taking shape,” said Mayor Bruce Lantz. “Today’s announcement marks an important stride toward improving our local economy through the creation of much-needed construction jobs and the purchase of local supplies and materials.”
The new Fort St. John Hospital and Residential Care project is the cornerstone of the Province’s commitment to revitalize health care services in the north. Other investments into the health of northern British Columbians include the Northern Cancer Control Strategy, which includes a new BC Cancer Agency Centre for the North in Prince George and renovations to Prince George Regional Hospital, and the development of a medical school at the University of Northern British Columbia.
The Fort St. John Hospital and Residential Care project is part of an overall, three-year, $14-billion capital infrastructure program, which includes $2.5 billion for capital spending in the health sector, supported by the Province, that will create up to 88,000 jobs and help build vital public infrastructure in every region of B.C. Visit www.gov.bc.ca/infrastructure for more information.