A bankrupt subcontractor has forced the Canadian Cancer Society to delay the opening of Kordyban Lodge for an indefinite period.
Some work was halted last month at the facility, which will house out-of-town patients visiting the soon-to-open BC Cancer Agency Centre for the North. Margaret Jones-Bricker, the regional director for the the northern region of the Canadian Cancer Society, said all together work stopped for about four weeks.
"One of the subcontractors went out of business, but the contractor now has another subcontractor on site and work has resumed," she said.
The lodge was expected to open in January, but Jones-Bricker said it's too early to tell how long this delay will push that back.
"I'm hopeful that we'll know something in the next couple of weeks," she said.
The cancer centre itself is going through its final stages of completion, with equipment testing and staff training. It's expected to open in December.
In the meantime the society will continue to support out-of-town patients by pointing them to low-cost accommodation options in Prince George and by providing funding for those eligible to receive it.
"We're sympathetic to the effect that this may have on those who are coming into the community for treatment and need accommodation," Jones-Bircker said. "That's our main priority."
The lodge is located next to the cancer centre and once open will give patients and their caregivers a place to stay while receiving treatment, provide full meal service and facilitate programs like massage therapy and a wigs and prosthetics room. The 25,000-square-foot facility will have 36 beds and will rely on a group of 100 or so volunteers to run its daily operations.
The new cancer centre will allow patients in the north to have access to many types of cancer treatment including chemotherapy and radiation closer to home, but many of those from areas outside of Prince George will still require overnight or multi-day stays.
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