Download a copy of the October 2023 Quarterly Project Update.

WHERE WE’RE AT

Recent milestones and activities

• In September, PCL achieved an impressive 1.5 million worker hours without a safety incident.
• Posters with project info and featured department floors plans were displayed for two weeks in the MMH basement and Skeena Mall in Terrace. Posters are also on Let’s Talk MMH.
• Majority of electrical panel installations are complete.
• Food services kitchen equipment was delivered and installed.
• Three of six elevators are complete and in use, with the final three expected to be done soon.
• 99% of the drywalling in the entire facility is complete.
• Site service road and new temporary parking lot in front of new Seven Sisters is now paved.
• Startups of major systems is ongoing – for example, air handling units, heat recovery chillers, heating boiler and the steam boiler.
• Infection control measures continue to be implemented on site - for example, boot cleaners at all entrances, daily cleaning of work areas, and use of HEPA filtered vacuums.

Inside progress photos

Food Services Level 0 (Basement)Laboratory Level 1 Cancer Care Level 1

Emergency Department Level 1Sample Washroom

WHERE WE’RE GOING

As the substantial completion dates for both the new Seven Sisters and the new Mills Memorial Hospital approach, the timelines for moving into the new facilities are becoming clearer.

What substantial completion means to us is that the building is complete, and Northern Health can occupy it. It does not mean the entire MMH Replacement Project is complete. The project, including parking and landscaping, is set to be complete in 2026.

• Substantial completion for the new Seven Sisters will occur in mid-January 2024. We anticipate moving into the new Seven Sisters in mid-February.
• Substantial completion for the new hospital is on track for September 19, 2024. We anticipate moving into the new hospital by the end of November.

In between the substantial completion and move in dates, staff and physicians will be oriented to the new buildings and prepare the new facilities for patient care. This includes ensuring all supplies are in place, and all systems and equipment are functioning properly, including those required to run the facility itself, and for patient care workflows and services.

Download a copy of the Emergency Department poster.

Department features

• On Level 1
• Designated entrance, waiting area and registration area (separate from main entrance, waiting, registration area)
• Significantly larger and more welcoming space
• More patient treatment spaces
• Patient spaces separated by walls (not curtains) improving privacy and infection control
• Digital and in person registration desks
• Washrooms and hand hygiene sinks throughout
• Enclosed, heated double bay ambulance garage
• Two team care stations with strategic sight lines that enhance patient care, and patient and staff safety

Rendering of Emergency entrance

Rendering of Emergency department hallway

Download a copy of the Emergency Department poster.

Northern Health worked with an interior design consultant to create a safe, welcoming and positive environment for staff, physicians, patients and visitors. Key considerations:

• Nature
• Northwest BC cultures
• Northwest BC communities
• Creation of calm, welcoming and comfortable environment
• Promotion of health, wellness and safety
• Department workflows and functions
• Health standards and infection control
• Long term maintenance, cost and availability of materials
• Prevention of triggers

The colour and materials palette applies to both the new hospital and the new Seven Sisters.

New staff parking lot should be ready in November.

Parking situation continues to evolve

The parking situation at Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace continues to evolve, as construction of the new hospital continues.

About a year ago, a temporary gravel parking lot for staff was built to the left of the existing hospital’s main entrance on Haugland Avenue. That lot is now closed temporarily, as the space is being used to facilitate construction of a larger lot to it’s left, directly south of the new Seven Sisters facility.

After the new parking lot south of Seven Sisters is paved, the gravel parking lot and its fencing will revert to how it was and once again be ready for staff use, by mid-October, weather permitting.

Construction work will continue on the new paved lot to make it safe for use (for example, lights will be installed). This new lot should be open for use by the end of November, also weather permitting, and provide approximately 18 new staff parking spots.

Parking challenges and solutions

We know parking at the hospital and Seven Sisters is challenging and has been for a while ─ for staff, patients and visitors.

When the Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement project is complete, in 2026, the new hospital will have about 300 parking spaces. This is double the number of parking spots the hospital started with at the beginning of the project in 2021.

And yes. Parking at the hospital will continue to be free!

The bulk of the parking spaces for the new facility will be where the existing hospital stands, and so won’t be available until after that facility is demolished and the new lot is built by mid-2026.

As the project advances, Northern Health will continue to work on creating parking solutions for staff and visitors while juggling building the new hospital and supporting operations at the existing one.

We appreciate your understanding and patience during this time.

Posters and project info on display is also online on Let's Talk MMH - as updates, and in the folder 'September 2023 MMH project display posters' under Documents, on the right side of the home page.

Got questions? Email: letstalkmmh@northernhealth.ca

Download an image of each of these posters in the Documents tab on the right hand side of the Let's Talk MMH home page.

Dr. Greg Linton and his spruce-roots-style band Dr. Fishy are excited about fundraising for the REM Lee Hospital Foundation. As published on www.terracestandard.com on September 19, 2023

New neonatal unit for Northwest BC will be life-changing for expectant mothers and newborns

Community support is essential to make the dream of the new NICU come true

A groundbreaking project to bring care closer to home for women and newborns with preterm or high-risk births will be life-changing for families in and around Terrace and Northwest B.C.

Led by the R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation, the "Closer to Home” campaign is raising funds toward the $14.5 million to add a new, four-bed, Tier 3 neonatal intensive care nursery (NICU) for the Mills Memorial Hospital replacement project, where construction is underway to create a new state-of-the-art hospital at double the current capacity.

The new NICU means vulnerable babies and anxious mothers, predominantly from Indigenous communities, will have access in and near their own communities and families, instead of leaving to receive care in Vancouver or Prince George.

It will offer the most current models of care for all high-risk, expectant women who walk through their doors. The Mills Memorial Hospital is also doubling its size with construction for a 78-bed hospital.

Currently, women with higher-risk pregnancies typically have to fly to Vancouver or Prince George to receive care and prepare for preterm deliveries, while their spouses and families often must stay back to care for the rest of the family in an already anxiety-filled situation. More than 75,000 people, including 40,000 in 28 area First Nations communities will benefit from the improvements to newborn care. The facility will be able to care for births as early as 34 weeks in regular cases and 32 weeks in emergencies, rather than the current 37 weeks.

“Infants, newborns are in a tender state. To have them go through the ordeal of being flown to Vancouver on a place when they should be cuddling with their Mom is harsh on a little one,” notes Ron Bartlett, a longtime Chair of the Dr. R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation .

Fundraising is underway

Fundraising for the new NICU kicked off on June 3rd, 2023, in conjunction with the Kitsumkalum Walk for Health event. Local Indigenous nations impacted include the Haida, Haisla, Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, Nisga’a and Tahltan nations. Others include surrounding areas from Atlin to Dease Lake, East to Smithers and Houston, and West to Prince Rupert including Haida Gwaii.

“It was phenomenal to be there with the Kitsumkalum Nation, and to have one of the nations served in this catchment area of 250,000 hectares help us kick off this NICU campaign, and highlight these incredible partnerships among nations and communities,” reflects Jeff Sodowsky, the Vice President of Global Philanthropic Canada, who is spearheading this campaign with a cabinet of dedicated volunteers and First Nations leaders from several communities.

Even a doctor, Dr. Greg Linton, and his spruce-roots style band called Dr. Fishy, are getting involved with this effort!

“When we heard about this $14.5 million Closer To Home project, we knew that we had a long way to go. So we contributed the $1,400 we raised to this event,” says band leader Linton, who gathered a large crowd at his home for an August fundraiser.

Local industries have also stepped up in the fundraising for the NICU, with Newcrest Mining making one of the campaign’s first gifts, Sodowsky says, but emphasizes that just as it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a community to build a special care nursery. All donations – large and small – are both welcome and needed in the community effort.

For more information and to support this crucial fundraising effort for the new NICU in Terrace, visit: remleehospitalfoundation.org/current-needs

We enjoyed talking to you all about working in health care, the new features and floor plans of the new hospital, and the importance of the Closer to Home campaign for Northwest BC families.

In the photo to the left, in front of the Northern Health booth, from left to right, are:

• Eva Visscher, Northwest Recruitment and Retention Ambassador, Northern Health
  
  
• Sarah Artis, Project Liaison for the Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement Project
  
  
• Heather Bellamy, Executive Director, Dr. R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation