Upgrades to the Cariboo Memorial Hospital (CMH) may solve more than just a need for expanded health services in Williams Lake, it may also help address the hospital's staffing issues.
Last week, the province announced that the business plan had been approved for the $217.75-million redevelopment of CMH. If all goes according to plan, a new addition to the hospital will be completed by 2023 and renovations to the current hospital will be done by 2025.
But for a hospital that had to suspend maternity services earlier this year due to a nursing shortage, the increase of "up to 53 beds" means they'll also need to bring in a lot more staff over the next four years.
"From our experience, newly renovated facilities with modern capabilities attract a skilled work-force, and this helps with recruitment and retention of health-care professionals," says Thalia Vesterback, health service director for CMH.
Along with their ongoing recruitment for nurses and physicians, Vesterback notes that as construction moves along, "initiatives will be undertaken, ensuring enough skilled staff are hired and ready for the opening of the 'new' CMH in 2023."
The redevelopment will include: a larger emergency department, more room for ambulatory care, a mental health and substance use inpatient unit, a maternal services unit and University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine space.
That last part is particularly crucial as Vesterback says it will "help train future physicians in the Cariboo region."
