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Design proponent chosen for Fort St. James hospital project

A $116 million project to replace the aging Stuart Lake Hospital in Fort St. James is one step closer to fruition now that the province has selected a proponent to work out the design of the building.
25 Dix at 2018 hospital announcement
Health Minister Adrian Dix visited the site of the new Fort St. James hospital when the project was announced in October 2018.

A $116 million project to replace the aging Stuart Lake Hospital in Fort St. James is one step closer to fruition now that the province has selected a proponent to work out the design of the building.

The next phase is now underway with Friday’s approval of the bid from Graham Design Builders LP to complete the design early-works agreement. Northern Health requested and received proposals from three shortlisted designers and in the evaluation process with Northern Health and Infrastructure BC and chose the bid from Graham Design Builders.

“Our government is moving forward to deliver a new hospital in Fort St. James with the selection of a preferred proponent and signing of the design-early works agreement,” said Minister of Health Adrian Dix, in a prepared statement. “This announcement means we are closer to seeing what the hospital will look like and getting shovels in the ground.

“Graham Design was selected as the successful proponent in January and we’re announcing it now. They’ve had some of their first meetings with user groups in terms of the design of the hospital, they’re going forward with that design and the final financial and design components that we’ll see in the summer.”  

The new hospital, first announced in October 2018, will be three times as large as the current 12-bed facility, built in 1972. It will increase patient capacity to 27 beds, including 18 long-term care beds. The new design will have an emergency department with two treatment rooms, a trauma bay and an ambulance bay.

Dix expects the new hospital will be in completed by 2024.

“It’s not just building a building, a hospital has to be flexible enough to deal with all the changes in health care technology and care over the next 40 years,” said Dix. “We’ve got to get it right when we build these things.

“I’m just thrilled about this hospital project, the support in the community is fantastic and we’re there were so many proponents. On some projects we’ve had challenges because after a certain size there are relatively few builders in the province who can build a hospital like St. Paul’s (in Vancouver) or Mills Memorial (in Terrace). This one we had just excellent proposals in proponents in this process.”

The new building will also house a laboratory and diagnostic imaging equipment. The additional space will allow Fort St. James to consolidate and centralize primary care services at the hospital, reducing the distance patients will have to travel for community health services, diagnostic imaging and lab services.

“This investment announcement within our region is tremendous news for the community of Fort St. James and the surrounding rural and First Nations populations that rely on the invaluable local health services provided from this facility, not only today, but now secured for the future,” said Jerry Petersen, chair, Stuart Nechako Regional Hospital District. “A long-term commitment to health care in Fort St. James alleviates pressures in our neighbouring communities, and for that, a well-deserved ‘thank you’ to the provincial government, Northern Health and regional hospital district elected officials and staff for your dedication and commitment to this project.”

Now that design early-works agreement (DEWA) is in place, the next step will be to issue a draft design-build request for proposals which will ultimately lead to a draft design-build agreement with the chosen proponent.

“The selection of a proponent for the DEWA is an important step in the development of a new hospital and primary care centre for Fort St. James and area,” said Northern Health board chair Colleen Nyce. “We look forward to the health service improvements this development will provide for people living in Fort St. James and the surrounding First Nations communities.”