The cranes have been part of views from every direction in Terrace for the last year, including this one from Lanfear Hill.

As of Tuesday, October 4, the two tower cranes on the Mills Memorial Hospital (MMH) construction site will be gone.

The cranes garnered significant attention when they first went up. For several months, local residents – including many excited children – would stand on the sidewalk near the Sande Overpass watching them work. Similarly, local photographers and videographers took the opportunity to catch visuals of the cranes swiveling and lifting, as this is the only time Terrace has ever had something like this in town.

The cranes will be dismantled over the course of four days, starting Friday, September 30. The crane on the south end of the site, closer to Haugland will be taken down first and the crane on the north end will follow.

Tower cranes are made up of a vertical tower (the mast) and an outstretched jib (the working arm). The jibs will be removed first, then the vertical towers taken down in pieces. This is the reverse order of how the cranes were put up.

The two cranes were initially erected just over a year ago, in August 2021, for the purpose of moving heavy equipment and materials. With the structural bulk of the new hospital complete, from here on, either smaller, mobile cranes or teleporters, which are forklifts with an extending boom, will be used to move materials to upper floor locations.

Cranes being erected last summer. Fun facts about the MMH tower cranes and its operators!

• Each operator works with a person on the ground, called a rigger or a swamper. A rigger’s main responsibility is to safely hook up loads for the operator to move with the crane.
  
  
• Each morning the MMH crane operators would start their shifts at 6am and meet to discuss plans for the days with safety being at the forefront of these discussions. They’d start climbing up their towers to the crane cab at approximately 6:20 am, often in the dark but under the bright lighting on the top of the mast guiding their way. After running safety tests and inspections, they’d start moving materials around 7am. Shifts were 12 hours long, ending at 6pm, and the operators take their breaks in the cab, not leaving their post until the end of their shift.
  
  
• Each crane has two radio systems for on site communications. One is used to communicate with the rigger. The other communicates with the other crane operator.
  
  
• Crane operators must consider many factors when moving materials on site, including but not limited to, what’s happening on the ground, the weight and shape of the materials, the outside climate (especially the wind), how to best mitigate risks, and much more.

Sharon Bryant of Kitsumkalum First Nation (right front) and Isabelle McKee of Kitselas First Nation (left front) are both members of the MMH Indigenous Advisory Working Group. Here they are pictured at a ground blessing ceremony on site last spring. In the back row are Gerald Nyce of the Kitselas Health department, and Northern Health Board Chair Colleen Nyce.

In light of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation this Friday, September 30, we wanted to tell you an important way Northern Health has engaged with Indigenous groups on the Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement project.

First ever Indigenous Advisory Working Group supports design of new Terrace hospital

With a budget of more than $600 million, the Mills Memorial Hospital (MMH) Replacement project, which includes the building of a new hospital in Terrace, is the largest capital project Northern Health has undertaken to date.

Northern Health engages with Indigenous groups, communities, and patients in many ways. And to date, all Northern Health capital projects, including the MMH project, have been supported by Capital Advisory Committees, which include representatives from local First Nations.

The MMH project, however, was the first Northern Health capital project to be supported by an Indigenous Advisory Working Group (IAWG) specific to the project.

“Being part of the IAWG and being able to provide feedback on plans has been wonderful. It’s exciting to be able to help create a safe space, share our culture and the ways it may be best represented in the new hospital. Unity and input from the group will help Indigenous patients feel safer and more welcome at the new facility,” said Sharon Bryant, a member of the Kitsumkalum Nation and the MMH Indigenous Advisory Working Group.

The MMH IAWG was formed in the spring of 2021. Members include representatives from the Nations of Kitsumkalum, Kitselas, Nisga’a and Gitxsan, Metis Nation of BC, Kermodei Friendship Society, and First Nations Health Authority.

The purpose of the MMH Indigenous Advisory Working Group is to have a table for Indigenous input into design aspects of the project. The group provides input pertaining to considerations unique to Indigenous culture and practices to ensure the new hospital will be culturally safe, welcoming, respectful and relevant.

Aspects of the project that may be influenced by this group include but are not limited to patient experience, culturally appropriate design, artwork, signage, and other local considerations of interest that arise as the group meets.

“Northern Health is tremendously grateful for the participation of the members of this group. Their input is extremely valuable, and will help Northern Health in its ongoing desire and commitment to have culturally safe care occurring in culturally safe facilities,” says Ciro Panessa, Northern Health Chief Operating Officer, Northwest Health Service Delivery Area.

The MMH Replacement project consists of the building of a new hospital in Terrace and a new Seven Sisters facility, which provides a mental health rehabilitation and recovery program on the same property as the Terrace hospital. Among many other exciting new features, the new hospital will be more than double the size of the current facility, with almost double the number of beds, double the number of psychiatry beds, and double the number of emergency department treatment spaces.

In addition to the IAWG, the MMH Replacement Project is also supported by a Community Advisory Working Group, which also has representatives from local First Nations.

Input from the CAWG and IAWG is filtered upwards. It first goes to the MMH Capital Advisory Committee. Then it goes to the MMH 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 and regional communities and residents.

Let’s Talk MMH is where you’ll find everything you want to know about the Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement Project and all the groups we’ve described.

Note: The graphic used for this story was specially designed by Gitxsan artist Cori Johnson for Northern Health to recognize National Truth and Reconciliation/Orange shirt day. Read more about the graphic and the artist.

Dianne Rooker (left) and Heather Bellamy of the REM Lee Hospital Foundation at the PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. 2022 Mills Memorial Hospital Project Golf Tournament

Good weather and a good cause made for a great wrap up to two great days at the Skeena Valley Golf & Country Club this month.

PCL Constructors Westcoast hosted a golf tournament in Terrace on September 6 and 13 to raise money for the Dr. R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation, which in turn raises money for two local health facilities: Mills Memorial Hospital and Terraceview Lodge.

Tournament participants included representatives from sponsors, PCL and the Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement Project team. The tournament's leading sponsors include Air Canada and Diversified Transportation. Other sponsors include All North, Clean Harbors, Flynn, HDR Architecture, Houle Electrical, IG Wealth Management, Janitors Warehouse, Modern Niagara, Robertson Wall and Ceiling, Smith and Andersen, Soprema, Sunbelt Rentals, Sunco Drywall, Totem Ford Terrace, United Rentals and Willscot.

PCL is the contractor designing and building the new Mills Memorial Hospital and Seven Sisters in Terrace. The golf tournament is one of several volunteer and fundraising initiatives the company has undertaken to benefit the local community.

The tournament took place over the course of two afternoons to accommodate participants working on alternate shifts.

New, temporary, employee parking lot in front of hospital

Ultimately, parking at the new Mills Memorial Hospital will be double what’s available now, going from approximately 150 to 300 spaces.

In the meantime, however, as the project’s main contractor PCL and Northern Health delicately juggle building a new hospital while continuing to operate the current hospital on the same site, visitors will once again notice a change in parking.

The most recent changes include:

1. A new, temporary, employee-only parking lot has been added on Haugland Avenue, west of the main entrance.
   
   
2. The parking lot next to the psychiatric ward, just off Haugland Avenue, is no longer accessible.
   
   
3. Only authorized vehicles are now allowed in the parking area just beyond the emergency department. This means visitors can no longer park in that area nor drive through and exit onto Haugland Avenue.

Area close to emergency department now only open to authorized vehicles

These changes are necessary as construction of the new hospital continues and site prep work for the new Seven Sisters facility begins.

To alleviate the impact of these steps in the construction process, last summer, PCL built a temporary gravel parking lot with 70 new spots. This new lot adjacent to Tetrault Street, in between the current hospital and current Seven Sisters facility, has been in use since July 2021.

Thank you for adhering to all parking rules as we move forward with this exciting project!

Download a pdf of the July 2022 Quarterly Project Update.

CELEBRATING ONE YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION!

Where we’re at

In June, we celebrated a year of construction! Here’s a few numbers from work completed to date.

• Over 100,000 tonnes of rebar
• 63 different slabs poured with 17,000 cubic metres of concrete
• More than 80 local businesses secured work on the site (see full list on Let’s Talk MMH)

The project remains on schedule and on budget.

Where we’re going

Several exciting things will be happening before the end of the year.

• Both tower cranes will be coming down.
• Outside shell of the new hospital will be complete.
• Internal and external information sessions about the project will be offered.

Project completion

The project is expected to be complete in the summer of 2026. The “substantial completion” date, however, is scheduled for September 2024. Substantial completion is the point when Northern Health will take possession of the new hospital and continue work towards getting the facility ready for patient use. After that, the current facility will need be decommissioned and demolished, and the landscaping and parking will also need to be completed.

Note that capital projects are complicated and many variables can affect timelines and deliverables.

Go to Let’s Talk MMH for a downloadable pdf of the visual timeline.

NEW HOSPITAL HIGHLIGHTS

New ambulance garage will increase patient comfort and care

Patients arriving at the new Mills Memorial Hospital by ambulance can expect a more comfortable and private experience as a result of a new, enclosed, drive-through ambulance garage.

At the current hospital, ambulances back into the emergency department lot behind the hospital. Patients are then transported out of the back of the ambulance, through the elements, into the main emergency entrance.

With the new garage, which has two bays, patients will be transferred in a fully enclosed, temperature-regulated space. Once the ambulance pulls into the garage, the doors will shut to protect patients and staff from the outdoors and weather, which can be extreme at times in Terrace. Patients will then be transported directly into the emergency department, far away from the main emergency entrance.

The new garage was designed to meet industry standards in consultation with BC Emergency Health Services, which oversees the BC Ambulance Service.

The new ambulance garage is on the northeast corner of the new hospital, near Keith Avenue.

What spaces will be available for families to visit and gather?

The new hospital has been designed with all types of patients and visitors in mind, including patients with large extended families, and patients with no family.

All rooms in the new facility will be private and allow families to gather comfortably and privately. Each room has its own bathroom and window, as well as visitor seating.

Several other spaces have also been placed throughout the facility. For example, family rooms, quiet rooms, and the TV lounge. This gives patients multiple places to go with their visitors other than their room. It also allows patients who may get lonely to have places to go and be around others.

The spiritual space on the first floor is also available for families to gather. The space has a large gathering room, as well as a small gathering room, a storage area, and a kitchenette. It also has technology in the larger room so that family members can join those in the room virtually.

Outside, several gardens with seating are also planned throughout the site.

PROJECT WORKING GROUPS

Engagement is a major part of Northern Health capital projects. We’ve engaged various stakeholders and partners in a variety of ways, sharing information and gathering input, as the project has developed and progressed.

A significant way we have received valuable input into the new hospital has been through both the MMH Indigenous Advisory Working Group (IAWG) and MMH Community Advisory Working Group (CAWG).

The work of the IAWG and the CAWG informs the project to help ensure a facility that reflects and supports the communities served by Mills Memorial Hospital. Over the last few months, both groups have met several times with members of the MMH Replacement Project Team to provide feedback on a variety of topics. Aspects of the project that may be influenced by these groups include but are not limited to patient experience, culturally appropriate design, artwork, signage, and local considerations of interest that arise as we meet.

Input to date from both groups has been extremely valuable and we are tremendously grateful for the participation of the members.

Input from the CAWG and IAWG is filtered upwards. It first goes to the MMH Capital Advisory Committee. Then it goes to the MMH 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 and regional communities and residents.

There is a lot going on behind the scenes in the construction of a new hospital, but a simplified version of reporting, when it comes to these groups, looks like the graphic on this page.

Both the IAWG and CAWG are schedule to meet next before the summer’s end.

Terms of reference for both working groups and the MMH Capital Advisory Committee can be found in the documents section of this website. Take a look to find out more info about the groups' purpose and membership:

• Indigenous Advisory Working Group (IAWG) terms of reference
• Community Advisory Working Group (CAWG) terms of reference
• Capital Advisory Committee (CAC) terms of reference

MORE INFORMATION

Go to Let’s Talk MMH

Go to letstalk.northernhealth.ca/mmh for regular project updates, photos, videos and other relevant documents. Let’s Talk MMH is our one-stop shop for everything related to the Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement project. The site has regular project updates and is where you can provide feedback and thoughts on the project.

Get in touch

Got questions or feedback, or want your email added to our quarterly update distribution list? Email: letstalkMMH@northernhealth.ca

Sarah Artis, the project liaison for the Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement Project, will respond.

Check out the construction camera

The Mills Memorial construction camera is 24/7. The link to the camera is on Let’s Talk MMH and has downloadable progress photos and time lapse videos.

The photos below are from Saturday, July 2, 2022.

The top photo shows the new hospital construction. The white material you see on the first floor is insulation. The siding that will ultimately cover the outside of hospital will cover the insulation.

The bottom photo shows the future site of the new Seven Sister facility. This is the southwest corner of the site, to the west of the current hospital’s main entrance.

A significant way Northern Health receives valuable input into the new hospital has been through both the MMH Indigenous Advisory Working Group (IAWG) and MMH Community Advisory Working Group (CAWG). The work of the IAWG and the CAWG informs the project to help ensure a facility that reflects and supports the communities served by Mills Memorial Hospital.

Aspects of the project that may be influenced by these groups include but are not limited to patient experience, culturally appropriate design, artwork, signage, and local considerations of interest that arise as we meet.

Over the last few months, both groups have met several times with members of the MMH Replacement project team to provide feedback on a variety of topics. The most recent meetings took place this past week, at the end of July.

Input to date from both groups has been extremely valuable and we are tremendously grateful for the participation of the members.

Input from the CAWG and IAWG is filtered upwards. It first goes to the MMH Capital Advisory Committee. Then it goes to the MMH 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 and regional communities and residents.

There is a lot going on behind the scenes in the construction of a new hospital, but a simplified version of reporting, when it comes to these groups, looks like the graphic on this page.

Terms of reference for both working groups and the MMH Capital Advisory Committee can be found in the documents section of this website. Take a look to find out more info about the groups' purpose and membership:

• Indigenous Advisory Working Group (IAWG) terms of reference
• Community Advisory Working Group (CAWG) terms of reference
• Capital Advisory Committee (CAC) terms of reference

Patients arriving at the new Mills Memorial Hospital by ambulance can expect a more comfortable and private experience as a result of a new, fully-enclosed, drive-through ambulance garage.

The new ambulance garage is on the northeast corner of the main floor of the new hospital, near Keith Avenue.

At the current hospital, ambulances back into the emergency department lot behind the hospital. Patients are then transported out of the back of the ambulance, through the elements, through the main emergency entrance.

With the new garage, which has two bays, patients will be transferred in a fully-enclosed, temperature-regulated space. Once the ambulance pulls into the garage, the doors will shut to protect patients and staff from the outdoors and weather, which can be extreme at different at times in Terrace. Patients will then be transported directly into the emergency department, far away from the main emergency entrance.

The new garage was designed to meet industry standards in consultation with BC Emergency Health Services, which oversees the BC Ambulance Service.

Ambulance parking area, behind the hospital next to the Emergency Department, at the current hospital.

View of ambulance entrance from inside current Mills Memorial Hospital.

The new facility has been designed with all types of patients and visitors in mind, including patients with large extended families, and patients with no family.

All rooms in the new hospital will be private and allow families to gather comfortably and privately. Each room has its own bathroom and window, as well as visitor seating.

Several other spaces have also been placed throughout the facility. For example, family rooms, quiet rooms, and the TV lounge. This lets patients have places to go with their visitors other than their room. It also allows patients who may get lonely to have places to go and be around others.

The spiritual space on the first floor is also available for families to gather. The space has a large gathering room, as well as a small gathering room, a storage area, and a kitchenette. It also has technology in the larger room so that family members can join those in the room virtually.

Outside, several gardens with seating are also planned throughout the site.

The Mills Memorial Hospital project has been voted 'best new development' in the Terrace Standard newspaper's 2022 Readers Choice Awards.

Thank you for your votes Terrace! We are as excited as you about the new hospital.