The new Stuart Lake Hospital is a step closer to becoming a reality as the community will soon see shovels in the ground.
The Ministry of Health has now signed a design-build agreement with the project’s preferred proponent, Graham Design Builders LP.
The facility will be three times larger than the current hospital. It will have 27 beds, including 18 long-term care beds. There will be an expanded emergency department with two treatment rooms, a trauma bay and ambulance bay.
Laboratory and diagnostic imaging will also be part of the new facility.
The current hospital opened in 1972 as a temporary facility and was only intended to last ten or fifteen years. It is now outdated in terms of space, functionality and technology.
The hospital has 12 beds and offers emergency, acute and complex care, as well as residential care, laboratory and X-ray services, as well as mental-health and addictions counselling.
“It's exciting news I think for health care in Fort. St. James for the services provided there and for our ability to attract healthcare workers there,” said Minister of Health Adrian Dix, in an interview with the Prince George Citizen.
“It's a major investment in the community and some of the most innovative primary Care work in the province is done in around Fort St. James and this provides an anchor to that, which is a new hospital.”
The new hospital will also have a primary care centre that will consolidate services currently being offered around Fort St. James. It will include physicians, visiting specialists, substance-use supports, home and community care and public health.
Approximately 450 direct and 300 indirect jobs will be created during construction, which is expected to begin in May 2022 and conclude in 2024.
Dix said while there is a challenge in recruiting for health services in the north it is made easier by having a new facility that may attract healthcare professionals.
“We still have to recruit people, but it demonstrates the commitment to health care in the community and it makes it part of recruitment easier when you have outstanding facilities to go to and people have been waiting a long, long, time in Fort. St. James for this.”
Dix also noted there are multiple capital investments in healthcare in the north currently underway. The Mills Memorial Hospital replacement project in Terrace is currently under construction, and the Dawson Creek District Hospital replacement project is in the procurement stage.
In 2020, the province also announced approval of a concept plan for a new patient care tower, including a new cardiac care unit, at University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC) in Prince George which is also in the planning phase.
“These are significant improvements in hospital service and it reflects the fact that so many of our hospitals were built in the late ‘50s and ‘60s and they served us well, but they've been around for fifty or sixty years, with 24/7, use and the technology in the whole nature of health care has changed in that time,” added Dix.
Colleen Nyce, board chair of Northern Health, said the new hospital in Fort St. James is a great investment in healthcare for the region.
“Not only will the people of Fort St. James and Nak'azdli benefit from a modern facility with a network of services, but so will those whose homes are in Takla, Binche, Yekooche and Tl'azt'en as well,” said Nyce.
“This much larger hospital means people can access more health services closer to home, which is good for communities in the North and good for families."
Project planning included Stuart-Nechako Hospital District, the community of Fort. St. James, and the Nak’azdli Whut’en, Yekooche First Nation, Binche Whut’en, Tl’azt’en Nation (Tache and Middle River) and Takla Lake First Nation.
“This investment means that residents can count on local access to high-quality primary care, emergency and diagnostic services well into the future, decreasing the need for medical travel and relieving the burden on neighbouring communities. We are thankful to the Province, Northern Health and SNRHD directors and staff for your dedication to complete this project,” said Jerry Petersen, chair of Stuart Nechako Regional Hospital District.
The new hospital will be built on the same site as the existing one. Once complete, the existing facility will be demolished to make way for parking.
The estimated project cost is approximately $158 million, shared between the Province through Northern Health, and Stuart-Nechako Regional Hospital District, which will contribute $20 million.
