Category #design   Show all

  • Fly through videos of new hospital site

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    Check out some animated fly through videos of draft plans for the new hospital site!

    Low fly through video


    High fly through video


  • Sneak peak at draft site plan

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    The draft Mills Memorial Hospital site plan is now available!

    Some highlights:

    • Hospital will be located on the north end of the current site, near the Sande Overpass
    • New location of Seven Sisters facility will be on the southwest end, near Haugland Avenue
    • Main entrance of the hospital, as well as the emergency entrance, face Tetrault Street
    • Approximately 300 parking spots will at the new site
    • Landscaping plans include several gardens

    Information about the project, including this draft site layout is now posted on a bulletin board in the hallway near the front entrance of the hospital. Information on the board will be updated throughout the project.

    In addition, a more in-depth display is being planned for in the community and at the hospital. Community members will have the chance to review designs, ask questions, and give feedback. Stay tuned! Dates to be announced soon.

    Please note, design is ongoing and all plans are subject to change.

    Download the draft site plan here.


  • New hospital will have 78 beds - but what does that really mean?

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    During the planning stages, new health care facilities are assigned and funded for a set of number of beds. This number, and the types of beds, are based on a many factors including population and health care need projections.

    The new Mills Memorial facility will be more than twice the size of the current facility. And the number of beds is also set to almost double, going from 44 to 78.

    The reality of a hospital though, including Mills Memorial, is that regardless of the official number of beds, if a patient needs care, they will receive care. Also, while the beds at the new Mills Memorial hospital are dedicated to particular types of care and services, if no one requires that care or service at the time, the beds will be used for the care that current patients require; the beds are not necessarily only used for the type of care they are dedicated to.

    Another common misconception is that the beds dedicated to the same service are located in a particular section of the hospital, such as a ward. In the new hospital, however, every room will be private with a private bathroom, which will improve patient care and experience. Also, every room will be able to accommodate all types and levels of care - though some rooms are dedicated, and therefore, more suited to particular forms of care or services.

    The official breakdown of beds, old vs new, at MMH is:

    • 25 to 41 medical/surgical beds
    • 3 to 5 maternity/gynecology beds
    • 3 to 4 labour room beds
    • 3 to 8 intensive care unit beds
    • 10 to 20 psychiatric unit beds

    The emergency department will also increase from 10 beds to 20.

    The number of beds at Seven Sisters will also increase from 20 to 25 beds.

  • Working groups created to give input

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    The Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement project is moving towards the final stages of procurement. Northern Health is in late-stage negotiations with a potential proponent to enter into a Design-Build Agreement. Once this agreement in place, the proponent will lead the complete design and construction of the new hospital.

    Design to Date

    The design of the new hospital is ongoing. Over the last year, several rounds of meetings have taken place between the proponent, MMH project team members, and facility user groups. The most recent meetings took place in February 2021 and the next round will be at the end of May.

    In the meetings, physicians and staff advise on essential and standard operational and clinical design elements, and raise concerns and offer suggestions based on best practices. These meetings are essential for the bidder to be able to draft a basic design and move through the Request for Proposal (RFP) process that leads to a final agreement.

    To date, the design of the hospital is approximately 60% complete, based on:

    • Best practices
    • Business plan
    • Statement of requirements
    • Services offered
    • Site and location
    • Local population
    • Department workflows and functions
    • Cultural considerations
    • Clinical and operational staff input
    • Indigenous, community and stakeholder input
    • Budget

    Working Groups created for Indigenous & community Input

    Since 2018, a Capital Advisory Committee, made up of local community, stakeholder and Indigenous representatives, has provided guidance in relation to project engagement. We are in the process of forming two working groups to serve under this committee and give input into the project.

    1. MMH Indigenous Advisory Working Group (IAWG)
      The purpose of the MMH Indigenous Advisory Working Group (IAWG) is to have a table for Indigenous input into design aspects of the project. The group, made up of local Indigenous and Métis Nation representatives, will provide input pertaining to considerations unique to Indigenous culture and practices to ensure the new facility is culturally safe, welcoming, respectful and relevant. The IAWG had its first two meetings at the end of April 2021. (Terms of Reference for the IAWG are available in the Documents section of this site.)

    2. Community Advisory Working Group (CAWG)
      The second working group, the Community Advisory Working Group (CAWG), will include broad community representation and is in development. The purpose of this group will be to provide input into design aspects of the project to ensure the new facility is locally and culturally respectful and relevant.

    Future Engagement

    After a proponent is announced, the MMH project team will initiate more general staff, community and stakeholder engagement. This includes sharing more detailed information, as well as seeking commentary and feedback.

    Register for Let’s Talk Northern Health!

    Due to current restrictions, a lot of our engagement will be virtual. This site Let’s Talk Northern Health is an online platform for sharing project information and gathering ideas and feedback. We invite you to check out the Let’s Talk Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement project page.

    Right now, we are asking some questions on the project page. We invite you to register for the site and share your thoughts. Over the course of the project, we will regularly post project updates, images, documents and engagement opportunities related to the project. This site will be where the most current project information is.

    Note! Anyone can go to the Let’s Talk site and Mills project page. But to participate and post on the site, or ask a question, you must register.

    Get in Touch

    Email: letstalkMMH@northernhealth.ca

    Or register and post a comment or question on the Let’s Talk Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement project page

  • Final stages of procurement

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    Working towards a Design Build Agreement

    The MMH Replacement project is in the last stage of the procurement process. The procurement process started in May 2019 when the BC Government announced the approval of the business plan for Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement project. Since then, we've worked through the following phases of the procurement process.

    1. Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
      • Resulted in only one qualified bidder

    2. Modified Request for Proposals (RFP)
      • Design and financial negotiations happen in parallel
      • Significant oversight from the Province and the Project Board, which consists of senior executives from the Ministry of Health, health authority representatives and other stakeholders.

    3. Project Board Final Approval

    4. Financial Close => Design Build Agreement (We are here!)

    The final proponent will be formally announced and construction will begin when the Request for Proposals process is closed and fulfilled, and a final Design Build Agreement (DBA) is signed.

    Capital Projects Take Time

    A major capital project is a large undertaking that takes a series of planning steps to ensure the facility is:

    • designed appropriately;
    • tendered and constructed for the best value;
    • scheduled properly to ensure the continuity of health care at the existing hospital is maintained during the construction period.

    Hospitals are highly complex facilities with many interconnected systems, services and equipment. It’s in our best interest to work through the project thoroughly to ensure that we get the facility we need, in accordance with the financial scope the government has set.



  • Aerial view of proposed plans

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    Wondering where the new Mills Memorial hospital and the new Seven Sisters facility will be located?

    Both new facilities will be built on the same piece of land as the current hospital. The new hospital will be between the current hospital and the Sande Overpass, the majority of which is now a wooded area. The new Seven Sisters facility will be built just to the west of the hospital, close to Haugland Avenue. Currently, this is parking in front of the current facility's psychiatric unit.

  • New Mills will not have a helipad

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    Northern Health had a third party lead a process to review the development of a helipad as part of the Mills Memorial Hospital replacement project. The report concludes:

    • The airport is the optimal location for fixed and rotary wing emergency transportation
    • The current project is prohibitive for the development of a ground level helipad at this time
    • The risks associated with helicopters incidents at a healthcare facility helipad when compared to the short travel distance from the airport to the helipad are significant

    In addition, fixed-wing transport is a mainstay through the BC Ambulance system and requires an airport from which patients may be directly transferred. Ground ambulance is still required for patient transport no matter the location of the helipad.

    The full reports can be seen below: