Ksyen Regional Hospital - Terrace, BC

As of Thursday, May 27, local residents can expect to see some activity on the Mills Memorial Hospital site. This activity is in preparation for the potential construction of a new Mills Memorial Hospital and Seven Sisters Facility in Terrace.

This week, delivery trucks will be bringing equipment and materials to the site. Starting next week, some contractors will be on site, and trucks will begin to come and go regularly.

The main traffic flow has most work vehicles accessing the site from Tetrault Street and exiting onto Haugland Avenue. Traffic in the neighbourhood may increase slightly, but is not expected to be significant.

Parking at the hospital should not be impacted at this time.

General work hours will be from 7am to 6pm, seven days a week.

Note that for this project, the City of Terrace granted an exemption to bylaw NO. 2100-2016, which regulates, prohibits, and imposes requirements on noise. So that the project can be completed faster, the exemption allows for activity on site seven days a week.

While a design build agreement for the construction of the new Mills Memorial Hospital is still in the works, we are managing the project to ensure no delay should construction proceed.

Stay tuned for more updates!

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

A significant number of trees were recently cleared on Northern Health’s Mills Memorial Hospital site. Northern Health felled hazard trees for public safety. We also cleared necessary trees to ensure the construction of a new hospital could happen as soon as possible. While a design build agreement for the construction of a new Mills Memorial Hospital is still in the works, we are managing the project to ensure no delay.

At this time of year, birds start nesting. Once a bird has nested in a tree, legally, to protect the bird and the nest, one cannot cut down that tree or those nearby. Clearing trees now will prevent potential bird nesting, which could have delayed the clearing of trees later, and as a result, delayed the start of construction. Any delay to construction, minor or major, would add significant costs to the project.

Please be assured that plans for the new hospital include significant landscaping and revegetation.

On Friday, March 19, 2021, Northern Health gave a project update to the North West Regional Hospital District (NWRHD) Board. NWRHD is contributing $113.7 million to the project cost.

Ciro Panessa (Chief Operating Officer, Northwest Health Service Delivery Area) and Michael Hoefer (Regional Director, Capital Planning and Support Services) presented a powerpoint that included a project timeline, as well as information about the new, proposed facility.

Download a copy of the presentation here.

• More info about the North West Regional Hospital District is available here.

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.

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.

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:

• Final assessment report
• GroundEffects Aerodrome report

Western Financial Group has donated $5,000 to the Dr. REM Lee Hospital Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising money to expand and enhance healthcare at Mills Memorial Hospital and Terraceview Lodge in Terrace.

And the Foundation has dedicated this money to support the expansion of emergency services at the new Mills Memorial Hospital, set to be built and completed in the next few years.

The $5,000 grant comes from the Western Financial Group’s Communities Foundation, which donates to charitable causes in both B.C. and Alberta. Terrace Western Financial chose to put the Dr. REM Lee Hospital Foundation into a draw for the money and they won.

Thank you Western Financial and Dr. REM Lee Hospital Foundation!

Photo Dr. REM Lee Hospital Foundation Chair, Ron Bartlett (far left) and Vice-Chair Dianne Rooker (next to him), accept a cheque for $5,000 from Terrace Western Financial’s Mila Gibson (far right) and Jesse Sheppard of on January 7, 2021.

Request for Proposal Process Continues

The Mills Memorial Hospital (MMH) project team continues to work through the modified Request for Proposal (RFP) process with a qualified bidder (the proponent). While a design build agreement is not yet in place, we continue to collaborate to move the project forward and in anticipation of a successful outcome.

New Project Office

A new MMH Replacement project office has been established on the second floor of the current hospital, and the project team has expanded to 11 members. Some of the team members work full-time on the project, while others also have other responsibilities.

User Group Meetings

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 during the last two weeks of November 2020 and another round will take place in February 2021. These meetings are essential for the bidder to be able to draft a basic design and move through the RFP process that leads to a final agreement.

These meetings are focused on clinical design. 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.

It’s important to note that nothing at this stage of design is complete. Significant input still is and will be required for the final facility design.

Communications & Engagement

In September 2020, Northern Health’s Indigenous Health department contracted an Indigenous Engagement consultant to advise to help guide Indigenous engagement related to the Mills Memorial Hospital and future Northern Health capital projects. The MMH project team is working closely with Indigenous Health and the consultant to ensure proper and respectful engagement.

In anticipation of a final agreement, the Project Team is busy planning and updating our communications and engagement plan. As a result of Covid-19 and restrictions on gatherings, we must be especially creative in our techniques, and take many activities online.

After a proponent is announced, the Project Team will initiate public engagement. This includes sharing more detailed information, as well as seeking commentary and feedback from Indigenous partners, stakeholders and the community at large.

Stay Tuned!

We are pleased with the progress of the MMH project and RFP process to date. However, to maintain competitiveness in the process, we cannot provide further details until a successful proponent is announced.

July 2020

The procurement phase of the Mills Memorial Hospital (MMH) replacement project continues to be on-schedule.

Project Management is continuing to work through the modified Request for Proposals (RFP) process with a qualified bidder, and the final proponent will be formally announced when the RFP process is closed and fulfilled. In this portion of the process, the bidder has been meeting with facility user groups to ensure a draft design that can meet clinical needs, based in large part on best practices and input from the physicians, nurses, clinicians and many allied workers that use the facility to fulfill health care needs every day. If the design that results from this phase is approved, it will not be a complete and final work – input will still be required for many aspects of the final facility design to met and respect the cultural and healthcare needs of the public, specifically respecting local communities.

After a proponent is announced, the Project management Office will initiate public engagement work, including more detailed information-sharing along with advisory sought for the next stages in design planning.