Category Engagement Show all
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FAQ: How has community feedback inspired design?
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Community engagement has been a crucial part of the hospital replacement project since day one. Through online engagement, in-person events, and working groups, we gathered community input to ensure the new space would be welcoming and culturally safe for all.
We are so grateful for the feedback we’ve received along the way, and it has shaped how the hospital has been built.
When we asked what would make the hospital culturally safe, you said:
- Representation of the seasons of the year, keeping with Dakelh culture and worldview
- Representation of nature, since it’s healing and welcoming to all cultures
- Windows to the outside to provide natural light and views to the sky, lake, and trees
- Room to come together to drink, eat, celebrate, and grieve as a community
- Fire is important
- Circles on ceiling (representing drums) in spiritual spaces
So, what does that look like in practice?
Representation of the seasons and nature
The final colour palette for the facility showcases the beauty of Fort St. James’ transitioning seasons to identify different areas of the hospital. The hospital features two colour schemes inspired by warmth and frost. Visit our FAQ about the colour palette to learn more.
Other than bringing nature-inspired colours and finishes into the facility, the most exciting way we’re showcasing the natural beauty of Fort St James is by letting it speak for itself…
Windows and natural light
…and the best way to do that? Big, beautiful windows throughout the facility!
Natural light is a priority in the new build, so you’ll notice large windows with picturesque views throughout each department. Virtually all the windows in the new hospital feature views of the mountains, the lake, the forest, or gardens.
Pictured left to right: Hallway in Long Term Care, a window in Primary Care, the front entrance of the hospital, and a patient room in Long Term Care Room to come together to celebrate and to grieve as a community (fire is important)
Bringing loved ones together is important, so we’ve ensured there’s lots of room to do so in the new hospital and health centre.
A Gathering Space has been created with tables and chairs to gather for meals, card games, or other activities – all built around a standalone fireplace.
In Long Term Care, there is a relaxing lounge in the common area for residents and family to visit each other, featuring a built-in fireplace.
Pictured left to right: Rendering of the Gathering Space, April progress photo of the Gathering Space, Rendering of the common lounge area in Long Term Care A palliative care suite has been developed that has two separate spaces: one large room for patient care, and another adjoining room where family can stay with a kitchenette. The palliative suite opens onto the Healing Garden where culturally important plants and trees will grow. The doors in the palliative care suite are wide enough that a bed can be wheeled all the way out to enjoy the garden.
Pictured left to right: Family room in palliative care with adjoining patient room, Rendering of the Healing GardenWe understand how hard it can be when a loved one passes on. In the morgue, there is a quiet room where families can gather and take as much time as needed, surrounded by art.
Circles on ceiling and smudging in spiritual spaces
The Spiritual Space is available to all who visit the hospital, and the design has been heavily influenced by the feedback we received. In addition to a large window looking out to gardens, the space features circle shapes on the ceiling and has been constructed to accommodate smudging.
Rather than only adding the circle shapes in the Spiritual Space, lighting resembling drums has been added throughout the facility – especially in Long Term Care.
Pictured left to right: Rendering of the Spiritual Space, April progress photo of the Spiritual Space, Rendering of Long Term Care dining areaThank you to everyone who has shared their input on the hospital replacement project so far! Soon, we will begin the process to select art for the facility. If you are interested in joining our art committee, please reach out to letstalkSLH@northernhealth.ca.
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May Engagement Update
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Christine (our Communications & Community Engagement Liaison) has had a busy month getting out into the community and sharing updates on the new hospital build. Here are some highlights from May:
Northern Health Leadership Forum
To kick off the month, our team had the opportunity to showcase the Stuart Lake Hospital Replacement Project alongside the Mills Memorial Hospital and Dawson Creek & District Hospital replacement projects at the annual Northern Health Spring Leadership Forum in Prince George.
This year’s forum welcomed more than 100 leaders from across the region for two days of education, collaboration, and networking. In addition to the daily speakers and breakout sessions, the leaders explored 50+ demo pods centered around Digital Health, SaferCare, and HealthSpaces.
Our new build project booths, located in the HealthSpaces area, featured:
- Exciting information about the projects
- Draft renderings of the new facilities
- Construction progress photos and video walk-throughs
- Construction time lapse videos
- Swag and giveaways
- And two 3D printed cranes!
Left: Communications & Community Engagement Liaisons Christine Midgley (Stuart Lake Hospital), Ashley Pannozzo (Dawson Creek & District Hospital), and Sarah Artis (Mills Memorial Hospital) get ready to greet conference-goers. Middle: A 3D-printed replica of the crane at the Dawson Creek site. Right: Christine showcases the progress on the new Stuart Lake Hospital. Healthcare Travelling Roadshow
While the UNBC Healthcare Travelling Roadshow (coordinated by the Northern Medical Program) visited Fort St. James, we took the opportunity to take the future doctors on a virtual tour of the new Stuart Lake Hospital! The Nechako portion of the roadshow (Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, Hazelton, Dease Lake, Stewart) made a pit stop at Fort St. James Secondary school to present to students on May 13th.
Each spring, post-secondary medical students from across the province hit the road to visit schools in Northern BC, inspiring high school students to consider health care as a future career. After an exciting morning of facilitating hands-on demonstrations to the high schoolers, the roadshow crew was ready for the lunch spread organized by the Primary Care Society.
Over lunch, we shared the construction time lapse of the new hospital build, renderings of the facility, interior progress photos, and had conversations about the community engagement we’ve done to ensure culturally-safe care.
Several of the future physicians expressed interest in returning to visit the hospital when it’s finished, so we look forward to hosting them again!
Future physicians from the Healthcare Travelling Roadshow lead hands-on learning at Fort St. James Secondary School. Seniors Association Potluck
We’d heard rave reviews about the Stuart Lake Seniors Association potlucks in the past, so we were excited to get an invitation this month! After the most incredible spread of home-cooked food and fantastic company, we can see why it’s the hot event in town.
Christine walked the attendees through a virtual hospital tour, showcasing construction progress, renderings, and additional information on what to expect with the upcoming naming and art selection working groups.
Thank you to Lynn Dunkley for the invitation, and to the entire Seniors Association for being fantastic hosts.
Our Northern Health bear is set up and ready for a potluck party!If your group/organization would like members of our team to share a presentation with your team or to set up an information booth at an event, please reach out to letstalkSLH@northernhealth.ca
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Quarterly Update: May 2024
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Construction at the Stuart Lake Hospital charges forward as we work towards welcoming patients in January 2025.
Haven't had a chance to keep up with our updates online? We've compiled highlights of the recent progress and engagement activity in the May 2024 Quarterly Update to catch you up.
PROJECT STATUS UPDATE
Where we’re at
It’s been a busy quarter at the new Stuart Lake Hospital site in Fort St. James. The Graham building team has been hard at work to keep the project on time and on budget, and we are pleased to announce that 85% of the construction is now complete!
This milestone is right on schedule, and we look forward to welcoming patients to the facility in January 2025.
Some notable highlights of the last few months include:
- Exterior construction is virtually finished.
- Interior work is well underway with installation of ceilings, electrical and mechanical systems commissioning, and finishing details like painting and flooring.
- 386 doors have been installed throughout the facility.
This is just a snapshot of the progress on the new hospital. Fun fact: the Graham team clocked over 300,000 worker hours in March alone! Check out progress photos and videos on our Let’s Talk website to see how far construction has come.
Next steps
Some of the upcoming activities include:
- We are launching two new working groups to assist with facility naming and art selection (details on page 3).
- Construction will be completed in Fall 2024. Once the keys are passed over, we’ll be moving equipment in, training staff, and preparing for the January opening.
- Work on the Healing Garden and other landscaped areas around the facility will occur in Spring 2025.
ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVES
Education, wellness, and career fairs
Have you met our new Community Engagement Liaison yet? Christine Midgley has been making her way around Fort St. James’ events to make local connections, share project updates, and give community members a sneak peek at the new facility.
In March, she partnered up with our recruitment team to attend Nak’azdli Whut’en’s career fair at Kwah Hall. Since the new hospital is three times the size of the current facility, Northern Health will be hiring for multiple health care and support services positions over the coming months. Attendees learned about the various employment opportunities at the new facility and different education pathways to get there.
In April, these conversations continued at the district’s Recreation and Wellness Fair, hosted at Fort St. James Secondary School. Many students and community members expressed interest in health care careers or shared their excitement for the new facility.
Melissa Morin (Regional Lead, Indigenous Recruitment) attended with Christine to share information about the Indigenous-specific programming and resources available through Northern Health.
Elders’ Grand Tea
More than 150 elders from Binche Whut’en, Nak’azdli Whut’en, Tl’azt’en, Takla Lake, and Yekooche First Nations gathered for the annual Elders’ Grand Tea at the Fort St. James Community Centre. The day was filled with drum making, bingo, and connecting over good food.
Christine attended the event with Megan Hunter (Health Services Administrator, Lakes Omineca) and Angie Prince (Indigenous Patient Liaison Worker) to give a short presentation to the elders on how their feedback impacted facility design, share progress photos, and unveil renderings of the bilingual English/Dakelh signage that will be featured in the new Stuart Lake Hospital.
Finally, we began to gather interest for the upcoming art and naming working groups.
Participants needed for upcoming working groups
One of the top priorities for the new Stuart Lake Hospital is to create a welcoming, culturally safe environment for all. To ensure this, we’ve engaged with working groups consisting of key leaders in the region, Indigenous communities, and health care staff. We incorporate their feedback wherever possible in the project.
As we enter the final stages of construction, Northern Health will be launching two new working groups to get community feedback: one for art selection, and one for facility naming.
The art selection committee will have a say in what pieces (paintings, photos, sculptures, etc.) are featured in the new build.
The naming committee will help choose names for the long-term care facility, various rooms, and a name to appear on the front of the building.
If you’re interested in joining either of these working groups, please reach out to Christine Midgley at LetsTalkSLH@northernhealth.ca
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Let’s Talk: Stuart Lake Hospital
The Stuart Lake Hospital Replacement’s Let’s Talk website is our one-stop shop for everything related to the project. On the site, you can find:
- Key details and important information
- Regular project updates
- Draft renderings
- Photos and video of construction progress
- Engagement highlights
Here are some updates that have been shared recently:
- Construction progress photos – April – March
- Construction Time Lapse
- FAQ: How did you pick the colours for the new hospital?
Contact us directly
For questions, feedback, or to get added to the distribution list for these updates, email Christine Midgley (Community Engagement Liaison, Stuart Lake Hospital Replacement Project) at LetsTalkSLH@northernhealth.ca
For more information on employment opportunities at the new hospital, visit Northern Health Careers.
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FAQ: How did you pick the colours for the new hospital?
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Since the beginning of the design process, we've prioritized community input to make sure the new build feels welcoming to all.
Our team connected with key leaders in the community, health care staff, and the Nak'azdli Whut'en, Tl'azt'en, Binche Whut'en, Takla Lake, and Yekooche First Nations to ensure collaboration every step of the way.
As these consultations went on, a recurring theme emerged: wanting the new build to reflect the natural beauty of the area.
With that direction, our design team took inspiration from the landscape features of the lake and the forest as a foundation for the master colour palette. After more community consultations, the final colour palette showcases the beauty of Fort St. James' transitioning seasons to identify different areas in the hospital.
So, what colours were chosen?
The hospital will feature two colour schemes inspired by the warmth and frost of the changing seasons in Fort St. James.
As the temperatures change through the transition of seasons, the land sees frost begin to appear in the late autumn months (Admin & Lab). While things may be chilly outdoors, winter brings warmth indoors through cherished family gatherings in the home (Long Term Care). Frost lingers through spring as the the days begin to stretch, soon bringing blossom to the landscape (Emergency). Finally, the familiar sunny skies of summer bathe the landscape in warmth (Primary Care).
The space between each area will be kept light and neutral to represent the balance of the seasons. Throughout the facility, wood finishings are used to tie the space together. We'll be sharing detailed renderings and progress for each area soon, but here's a preview of what to expect!
Top left: Emergency waiting area, Bottom Left: Main lobby/reception, Top right: Long term care nursing station, Bottom Right: Primary Care waiting area.
Note: All renderings are approximate and subject to change -
Career Fair Recap
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It was fantastic seeing so many people come out for this week's career fair at Kwah Hall! Our team had a great time connecting with the community and offering a sneak peek at the new hospital build. Thank you to the Nak'azdli Whut'en for having us.
If you couldn't make it out to the career fair, don't worry! Since the new Stuart Lake Hospital is set to open early next year, we will be hiring many positions over the coming months. Health care and support services jobs will include:
- Housekeeper
- Cook
- Food Services Worker
- Facility Maintenance
- Maintenance Worker
- Registration Clerk
- Imaging Tech
- Medical Lab Technologist
- Lab Clerk
- Care Aid
- Licensed Practical Nurse
- Registered Nurse
Opportunities for employment will also exist in the Primary Care Clinic which will be housed in the new hospital:
- Primary Care Assistant
- Medical Office Assistant
- Community Health Worker
- Rehabilitation Assistant
- Mental Health Clinician
- Social Worker
- Occupational Therapist
- Physical Therapist
- Nurse Practitioner
- Physicians
If you'd like more information about these positions or know someone that would be a good fit, connect with our recruitment team at recruitmentsupport@northernhealth.ca
Keep an eye out for us at future events! -
Hospital Highlight: Palliative Care
Share Hospital Highlight: Palliative Care on Facebook Share Hospital Highlight: Palliative Care on Twitter Share Hospital Highlight: Palliative Care on Linkedin Email Hospital Highlight: Palliative Care linkEarly on in the conversation about the new Stuart Lake Hospital, when we were first talking to community and Indigenous leaders from Fort St. James and the surrounding area about palliative care, we learned from you that end of life is a time for community and family to gather. We heard that space is necessary to accommodate all those who come to witness death, to pay their respects, and to grieve together; we heard that death is a time to follow protocol, to call on ceremony and connection to see us through the time of death and to see those we love leave this world and move on. We are grateful for the stories you shared and for how generously we were welcomed to experience death with you and to learn from you so we can do better.
Because of the teachings offered us and the care shown by the community, we have been able to create a palliative suite at the new Stuart Lake Hospital that will be a welcoming and comforting space when end of life times come. Some of the features of this space are described below.
With windows and doors to the outside and views to the lake and the forests, the palliative care area has access to a garden full of local, culturally significant plantings and spaces where people can gather and sit together.
The palliative care area also includes a patient room and a family lounge area. In the lounge, chairs and a table are available, as well as seats that recline for sleeping, a family washroom, and a fridge and microwave to use to ensure you feel comfortable during your visit.
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Yekooche Health Fair
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The 20th of September was a great day for a drive up to Yekooche! Thanks to an early start and no hauling that day, I startled many grouse off the road and wasn't startled myself by any big trucks. I was early for the health fair, set up quickly, and helped others bring in their door prizes. I also sneaked out for a photo or two of the beautiful school and the bright fall morning.
It was a pleasure to talk to so many people about the new hospital in Fort St. James! Everyone was happy to hear that construction is well underway, but we were even happier to get more input from the community on what will make a safe and welcoming hospital for all. Over the course of the project, in meetings with the Cultural Safety Working Group which includes members from Yekooche, Takla, Tl'azt'en, Binche and Nak'azdli as well as Indigenous Health, and while connecting with people in community we have heard and incorporated many ideas that will make the new Stuart Lake Hospital a comfortable and comforting place for patients and people visiting the hospital.
It was fantastic to reconnect with community members who have contributed already, and to make new connections and hear new ideas. We're so grateful for the input and the result of all these conversations will be a hospital that is a reflection of all the communities it serves.
A huge thank you to Yekooche and to Krista Janssen for having us at the health fair, and an even bigger thank you to all the community members who took time to chat with me and give us their feedback. Please remember that feedback is always welcome! You can contact us here at LetsTalkSLH@northernhealth.ca or you can find us in the community. Takla health fair is next!
Thanks for a great day, Yekooche!
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The Quiet Before the Storm
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Stuart Lake Hospital from Mt. Dickson TrailBehind the scenes is a flurry of activity, but you'd never know it looking out at the quiet field behind the Stuart Lake Hospital. The trees are down, the view is wide, the ground is waiting for shovels, and the people of Nak'azdli, Fort St James, Binche, Tl'azt'en, Yekooche and Takla are ready for the new build to start.
Ice pile in Stone's BayIn the meantime, we watch the ice pile up on shore, melt away and then freeze up again, ready for spring... and for the excitement of the Stuart Lake hospital construction to begin!
Open water in April on Stuart LakeWatch this page for announcements. We'll keep you posted.
(Thanks to Ann McCormick for the view of the hospital from the trail to Mt. Dickson).
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Spring 2022 Quarterly Update
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Stuart Lake Hospital Spring 2022 Quarterly Update
Where we’re at
Since Northern Health first began discussing the Stuart Lake Hospital Replacement project in 2008 we’ve come a long way. Provincial approval in 2018 led to the business plan approval in 2020, and in May 2021, Graham Design Builders LP was selected as the successful proponent of the project with their proposal for design, build, finance and maintenance. Now we find ourselves well into the procurement phase of the project.
Procurement consists of two parts: a technical submission and a financial submission. The technical submission ensures that the design meets community and health service needs, and the financial submission addresses the costs of the project. An evaluation committee then receives the submissions and reviews them. Throughout this process, the proponent’s design development continues.
Meanwhile, Northern Health is actively working with the contractor to ensure that the Stuart Lake Hospital will meet the community and health service needs while keeping within the Design Build Agreement. We’re also actively engaging with the community.
Project Schedule
Like all project schedules, timelines can be impacted any number of factors and thus are subject to change.
Flagging and falling of trees to clear the site began in early February 2022 and construction is currently on track to begin summer of 2022. Construction will take place between 2022 and 2024, with transfer of staff and patients the goal for 2025.
Next steps and upcoming milestones
Engagement next steps
Right now the Communications Team is establishing a Cultural Safety Working Group (CSWG) and a Community Advisory Working Group (CAWG). The work of the CSWG and the CAWG informs the project to help ensure a facility that reflects and supports the communities in the Fort St James area and the Northern Health Services Plan. Aspects of the project that may be influenced by these groups include patient experience, culturally appropriate design, artwork and signage, and local considerations of interest that arise as we meet.
There is a lot going on behind the scenes in a hospital replacement project, but a simplified version of the reporting goes like this: input from the CAWG and CSWG goes to the Capital Advisory Committee and then to the SLHR Project Steering Committee who, in collaboration with the Project Board, balances the complexities of a capital building project with the needs and wants of the local communities.
Engagement is a major part of Northern Health Capital Projects, and there will be many opportunities for input from the community as this project progresses.
Once construction has started for the Stuart Lake Hospital Replacement, this milestone will be celebrated by us on-site, online, and in the media. We hope you will join us!
Stuart Lake Hospital construction camera
Interested in what goes into a major hospital replacement? We will be installing a construction camera that you can access to see what’s going on at the site and watch it all come together. Although work has yet to begin, the construction camera will be a way to keep up to date with the Stuart Lake Hospital Replacement.
For a peek at other Capital Projects in progress in Northern BC, take a look at the GR Baker Construction Camera recording the hospital expansion in Quesnel, or at the Mills Memorial Construction Camera recording the replacement of the Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace.
For more information
Stuart Lake Hospital Replacement Project Let’s Talk
Let’s Talk is our one-stop shop for everything related to the Stuart Lake Hospital project. Not only does this site have regular project updates, but it is also a place where you can provide feedback and thoughts on the project.
Stuart Lake Hospital Let’s Talk
Contact us directly
For questions, feedback, or to get added to the distribution list for these updates, feel free to reach out directly to us through Jill Wigmore, our Community Liaison Officer for the Stuart Lake Hospital Replacement Project at LetsTalkSLH@northernhealth.ca
