January 2024 - Quarterly Project Update

Download a copy of the January 2024 Quarterly Project Update.
Note: images are included in the pdf version of the update.

WHERE WE’RE AT

Take a (virtual) tour of the new buildings!

Click on the video links below to check out progress inside the new hospital and the new Seven Sisters in Terrace. Learn more about the project and what staff have to say.

Note these videos are from fall 2023 so many areas of work are further along.

Recent milestones and activities

Construction on all five floors, Levels 0 to 4, is almost 100% complete.
Testing of major systems is ongoing – for example, air handling units, heat recovery chillers, heating boiler and the steam boiler.
Equipment, furniture and millwork continue to be delivered and installed.
Recruitment efforts, including social media campaigns, are ongoing. Check out the new Terrace and MMH recruitment video.
Staff and physicians continue to prepare for moving into and operating the new hospital, for example, planning new workflows, coordinating training for new equipment and technology, deciding on priority items to move, and much more.
We are getting ready to open in late 2024!

WHERE WE’RE GOING

New hands-free communications technology coming to MMH & Seven Sisters

This past month, more than 150 staff at Mills Memorial Hospital and Seven Sisters received training to use Vocera, a hands-free communications technology. The new system has staff wearing a small badge – on a lanyard or on their uniform – that enables them to communicate instantaneously with each other and staff in other Northern Health facilities which utilize the technology.

“The technology is meant to help make work easier for staff, to help save time,” said Darci Paice, the NH employee who facilitated the training. “Staff have been really engaged. Once they see all the features and benefits of the Vocera system, they get pretty excited.”

With the newer hospital being so much bigger, Vocera will allow staff to work together more effectively. Instead of relying on less direct communications techniques– for example, physically seeking someone out, paging them through the overhead call system, or phoning them and leaving a message - staff will be able to call each other immediately through the badges. And after pressing the button once to ‘wake’ the badge, all the communication is hands-free!

Vocera also integrates with regular telephone services, so users can place and receive regular phone calls with their badges. It will also integrate with the nurse call system at the hospital, so through their badges, staff will receive and be able to respond to alerts more easily.

MMH Medical Lab Technologist Brennan Bantle has used Vocera at previous work sites and is pleased it’s coming to MMH.

“It’s great, really helpful,” he said, “especially when fewer staff are on site, for example, on night shifts.”

By helping staff do their jobs more efficiently and effectively, the technology benefits patients too. A staff person who needs support with a patient can stay with the patient and call for help using the Vocera system, rather than leave the patient in search of help.

Staff will start using Vocera in early February.

HIGHLIGHT: THERAPEUTIC MULTI-SENSORY ROOMS

Mind and body therapy

Both the new Seven Sisters and the psychiatry department in the new Terrace hospital will feature a multi-sensory room. Multi-sensory rooms are therapeutic tools that are becoming increasingly important in supporting individuals experiencing mental health and substance use challenges.

Multi-sensory rooms have specialized sensory equipment and materials that help clients recognize and adapt their responses.

These types of rooms are particularly effective in mental health settings since they provide therapeutic interventions in a controlled setting. Research shows that multi-sensory rooms help empower individuals that use them, support emotional regulation, as well as decrease the use of restraints and seclusion in inpatient settings.

“We’ve wanted to incorporate multi-sensory rooms into client care for a long time,” said Brad Leier, NH Manager, Specialized Services. “With the extra space in new Seven Sisters and hospital, clients now have the chance to benefit from these calming and engaging spaces that are specially designed with their care needs in mind.”

Big thanks to the REM Lee Hospital Foundation who fundraised to help pay for the rooms!

FAQ: WHAT DOES A NEW HOSPITAL IN TERRACE MEAN FOR SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES?

When a community gains a new hospital, the entire region benefits.

Northern Health takes a regional approach to providing health care across Northern BC. The new hospital in Terrace will work in partnership with and complement other facilities in the region. A new Mills Memorial Hospital (MMH) will provide a foundation for services to grow in, and outreach programs to serve, surrounding communities. Learn more about how all of Northwest BC will benefit from a new hospital at by downloading the MMH regional benefits flyer.

YOUR MMH STORIES

Over the past 80 years, MMH has been part of many families’ stories – stories of joy, hope, change, and loss. As we look forward to the new hospital, we want to honour special moments that occurred at MMH. Here's some of stories we’ve received so far. The stories are truly special and we thank everyone who’s shared so far!

Lance Stevens - “I was a patient in the ICU and I remember the nurses. The were the sweetest most caring nurses ever. They were always understanding and compassionate regardless of uncomfortable, uncooperative incidents. I will be forever grateful for their dedication and the devotion they showed me. I am here today due to the MMH staff and I thank them.”

Chris Hansen - “I was president of the candy stripers in the early 1960s. I worked for the auxiliary and took tea and cookies to the patients.”

Fran Watson - “My niece Wanda was sick with cancer and another lady was there. I had a baby bear that my husband and I took care of. To cheer up some of the palliative care patients, we brought the baby bear into the hospital. The bear’s name was Echo. My daughter Bernadine, who was born in MMH, helped take care of Echo.”

Rani Parmar - “I started working at MMH in 1978. I worked in the kitchen as a cook. I was there for 20 years. I loved working there. The staff, the supervisor and the dietician were all great – friendly and fun! I miss that time.”

Carol Lomas - “In 1990, I had broken my leg. From my hospital room I could see the Bavarian Inn on fire. Wow. What a view!”

Heather Gurnsey - “I started working at MMH in September 1973 and retired in 2021! I worked in pediatrics and Halloween in the 1970s, we would dress the children up and take them trick or treating around the hospital. So much fun!”

Marilyn Ringdal - “I was doing my preceptorship in nursing at MMH in November 1989. I was told on day one that the elevator was temperamental and sometimes stopped short of the floor. Sure enough, on day one, the elevator doors opened about 3 feet short of the floor I was trying to get to. So nimble me scampered up with some difficulty, did a bit of a tuck and roll and got to my intended floor. I still laugh at what it must have looked like.”

Pete Nahirny - “When I was about 10 years old, Carl Pohle who had a mill on Keith Avenue, picked me up and I picked rocks for the hospital to make a lawn. Later, he hired me at his mill.”

Got a story to share? Go to Celebrating MMH through stories.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

A number of positions need to be filled at the current and future hospital ranging from clinical, support services, administration, and more! Get more info and a list of job opportunities at the new Terrace hospital and download a the MMH employment flyer.

Go to Northern Health Careers to search for current openings and positions for the existing and new hospital that are already posted.

Download a copy of the January 2024 Quarterly Project Update.

Categories: #quarterly update, #engagement