Construction ahead of schedule! A major milestone for the new hospital

Some exciting news about the new Dawson Creek & District Hospital project! Construction is progressing ahead of schedule and as a result, we've received notice from Graham Design-Builders that the substantial completion date has moved from November 30, 2026 to September 29, 2026—two months ahead of schedule!

Advancing the substantial completion date is a major achievement—and a testament to hard work by many partners and contributors. It brings us significantly closer to opening a brand new, state-of-the-art hospital that reflects the needs, values, and cultures of Dawson Creek and the Peace Region.

What does “substantial completion” mean?

Substantial completion marks the point when the building is sufficiently complete and safe for Northern Health to take ownership of the facility. While there may still be minor finishing touches, cleanup, or adjustments required, the hospital is considered fully constructed with functioning systems.

In practical terms, this is when Graham formally hands over the building—keys included—and Northern Health assumes responsibility for preparing the hospital for patient care.

What does this mean for opening day?

Because construction is ahead of schedule, our Go-Live / Opening Day will also be earlier than planned. There’s still work and planning to be completed prior to determining the new opening day date. But we’ll provide an update once we know more!

What happens between substantial completion and opening day?

Once we receive the keys to the building, we enter a critical activation and transition phase. These months are essential to ensuring that our physicians, nurses, support staff, and operational teams are fully prepared to deliver care in the new space.

A lot of work happens behind the scenes before the hospital opens its doors to patients, which includes:

✔ Staff Training, Orientation, and Education

• Staff will receive in-depth training on new equipment, updated workflows, safety procedures, and the layout of the facility.
• Teams will learn how to work in their new environment and adapt to redesigned workflows so they’re confident and well‑prepared.
• Staff will take part in hands‑on learning to ensure safe, high‑quality care from day one.

✔ Simulation and Dry-Run Exercises

• Teams practice real-world scenarios to ensure that care is delivered safely, efficiently, and consistently from day one.
• These exercises help identify gaps, test new processes, uncover concerns, and build staff confidence.
• This may include simulations of emergency codes and responses, patient journeys, interdepartmental coordination and patient workflows, patient transport routes for move day, testing wayfinding and routing, and much more.

✔ Furniture and Equipment Installation

• From beds to technology to medical equipment, everything must be installed and tested before we can welcome patients.

✔ Systems Testing & Safety Checks

• IT systems, emergency responses, mechanical systems, and clinical workflows undergo rigorous testing. Remaining deficiencies are corrected, systems are re-tested, and the building is prepared to welcome patients and families.
• This careful and deliberate preparation ensures that the hospital is fully equipped, staff are supported, and patient safety is at the center of every decision.
• We look forward to sharing more updates as we move through this exciting next phase of the project.

Emergency department - treatment rooms (left), care station (right)

Emergency department - treatment rooms

Emergency department - Clinical decision unit treatment spaces

Clinical decision unit treatment space

Inpatient unit room

Maternity unit - Care station

Surgery - pre- and post-op treatment spaces

Visiting specialists treatment room