Fort St. John Hospital and Patient Care Centre, Fort St. John, B.C.
Construction Underway
The 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.
ISL Health (ISL) is a team that combines the strength, innovation and experience of British Columbia, Canada, based companies with international firms to deliver the state-of-the-art hospital and residential care centre in Fort St John.
HCP will be carrying out the Project Management with design and build carried out by Acciona/Stuart Olson. Acciona Infrastructures Canada Inc. is one of the largest developer/construction companies internationally and Stuart Olson has a strong presence in the British Columbia market with numerous health related projects. Cannon Design, ISL’s choice as architect, is an ideas based practice, ranked as one of the top 10 healthcare design firms in North America. Angus Consulting Management Western Limited (ACML) will perform the plant services and utility management services and are currently responsible for the operation of 21 hospital facilities in Canada Finally, the Concessionaire for the Fort St. John Hospital project is Acciona and Innisfree (50/50) with responsibilities shared by both firms through the infrastructure’s life.
The Fort St. John Hospital and Residential Care project, which is estimated at $297.9M, will bring together a rural acute care hospital and residential care facility to a single site. This co-location of facilities will reduce travelling time for users and staff, and is in close proximity to the airport. The new facilities will be located on a portion of a 16-hectare “green field” site. The facilities will be linked together by an indoor passage-way, eliminating the need to venture outdoors when transferring patients for health care services. The integration of the hospital and residential care facilities will allow patients, doctors, hospital staff and visitors to flow seamlessly back and forth, reducing exposure during the winter season, when climatic conditions can be severe.
Gerry Green, Chairman of HCP speaking at Ground Breaking Ceremony in Fort St John: “We’ve sought to work closely with the Northern Health team so that we fully understand your requirements and ensure that the services we provide match them in full. As this project develops further, that approach will continue to mark the way in which we intend to work with you as a community”
The hospital is a two-storey, 15,000 square metre (approximately 161,459 square feet) building that will relocate, expand and modernize acute care services and programs currently provided at the existing hospital in the City of Fort St. John. Features of the new facility include:
· 55 acute care beds;
· Endoscopy suite;
· Two state-of-the-art operating rooms plus a procedure room;
· Ambulatory clinics, to include cancer care clinics and haemodialysis;
· Medical and surgical inpatient rooms;
· Intensive care unit;
· Separate maternity entrance and ward, with single-room maternity care; and
· Emergency department two-and-a-half times the size of the ER at the current facility.
The residential care building is a two-storey, 7,500 square metre (approximately 80,729 square feet) building that will expand and modernize care services for seniors. Features of the new facility include:
· 123 residential beds;
· Palliative, psycho-geriatric and special care units;
· Elder friendly design and features;
· Individual rooms with en-suite bathrooms;
· Every room has a view to the exterior, with easy access to outdoor courtyards;
· Convenient access to diagnostic services in the acute care hospital;
· Retail and community meeting space; and
· Shared daily living and dining space.
Combined design and innovation highlights of the new facilities include:
· Expansive use of windows for natural light, views and access to the outdoors to promote a healing environment and provide patients with a connection to nature.
· The facilities have been designed using the universal grid with standardized room configurations and the accompanying advantages of modularization – a proven innovation in health care that promotes maximum flexibility that allows for future expansion, while retaining clinical adjacencies with minimal disruption to existing operations.
· Innovative measures towards sustainability: An innovative engineered laminated timber structural deck system has been developed in partnership with a Canfor Mill, located in Fort St. John, for the construction of the residential care building. The structural deck system uses three layers of cross-laminated 2'x6' beetle-killed pine wood.
· Approximately six hectares of the 16 hectare site will not be developed, thereby providing future opportunities for expansion.
· The facilities will be built to achieve LEED® Gold Certification. The facilities are designed to be high performance, energy-efficient and a healthy building.
· A spiritual room.
Construction Schedule:
Construction of the new facilities is already underway. An early works agreement was initiated in June for this project to maximize construction during the short constructions season in Fort St. John. There are, on average, only 100 frost-free days in Fort St. John and certain elements of construction must cease during the winter months. A schedule and a work plan that are responsive to the climate in Fort St. John have been implemented that will ensure the project is completed on-time by spring of 2012.
Major milestones for the Fort St. John Hospital and Residential Care project to date:
· Province funding approval for the project – April 22, 2008;
· Request for qualifications (RFQ) – May 6, 2008;
· Request for proposals (RFP) – October 17, 2008;
· Preferred proponent announced – March 31, 2009;
· Early works agreement – June 2009;
· Contract award – July 16, 2009; and
· Construction groundbreaking event – July 22, 2009.