By battlefordsNOW

Move into new Saskatchewan Hospital expected to start next month

Jul 9, 2018 | 2:00 PM

The new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford is coming closer to completion.

The keys are expected to be handed over to Saskatchewan Hospital Director Linda Shynkaruk sometime in August, to start the move into the new facility. The hospital is scheduled to open around November or December.

“The hospital is booming right along towards completion,” said Derek Miller, Executive Director of Infrastructure Management with Saskatchewan Health Authority. “At the end of May we were about 95 per cent complete. That is going to be closer to 100 per cent as we get the end of July report.”

Currently crews are completing electrical work, painting, installing flooring and exterior lighting, and landscaping.

Miller said most of the work on the project is already finished.

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“The vision for this hospital from many years ago when we started on the planning path was to create a therapeutic home-like environment for the patients that are going to receive services there. It is definitely living up to that vision,” he said. “It’s a beautiful facility.”

It will take about three months to move into the new building, as well as to train staff on the new state-of-the art equipment.

In total the new facility will have 284 beds —188 of which are psychiatric rehabilitation beds. On the east side of the building, 96 beds will be in the secure wing for corrections offenders living with mental health issues. The facility will be operated by the health authority in partnership with corrections.

Patients will be able to use the gymnasium and medical clinic, for example, among the joint-use sites, since technology will enable them to transform from being secure sites to non secure, depending on their use.

Miller said regardless of which side of the building they are located on, all patients can benefit from these services.

“This is a fantastic project, especially for the local community and surrounding area,” Miller said. “We are excited to get moved in there and have all those patients benefit from this wonderful new facility.”

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW