The naming of Plenary Health as preferred proponent follows an extensive evaluation of the three teams that were shortlisted and invited to submit proposals to design, build, partially finance and provide facilities management services for the new centre that will permanently house the fifth provincial cardiac surgery program in B.C.

“Today we have reached an important milestone in the delivery of the new heart and surgical centre, the first ever cardiac critical care centre outside of the Lower Mainland,” said Kelowna-Mission MLA Steve Thomson.

“This IHSC project is just one part of almost $1 billion of investment in health care in the region, which is bringing cardiac care and surgery programs closer to home for those living in the Southern Interior,” said Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick.

“Since its inception at Kelowna General Hospital, the cardiac services program has proven successful beyond initial expectations. More than 2,000 individuals have been treated with excellent recovery rates,” said Westside-Kelowna MLA Ben Stewart.

The next stage in the competitive selection process is to conclude negotiations with Plenary Health – a process that is expected to culminate in a performance-based agreement by summer 2012, with the demolition activities beginning immediately thereafter. Details about the agreement and fixed project cost will be made public after the agreement has been
finalized.

“With the selection of Plenary Health as preferred proponent, we are excited to be moving forward with the conclusion of negotiations for building the new heart and surgical centre,” said Interior Health board chair Norman Embree. “This new centre brings us closer to our goal of developing the KGH site into a world-class health care campus that serves the entire Interior Health region.”

The IHSC building includes capacity for a total of 15 operating rooms, including two dedicated cardiac operating rooms. Approximately up to 600 open heart procedures per year will be performed in the IHSC. The building will also house surgical support services, including the cardiac surgery intensive care unit, a new and expanded central sterilization reprocessing department and a pre and post operative care unit.

As part of Interior Health’s commitment to environmental sustainability and green buildings, the new centre will be designed and constructed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, helping to create a healthy and healing environment for patients and health-care professionals.

A fairness adviser, Jane Shackell, QC, of Miller Thomson LLP, was appointed to oversee and monitor the entire evaluation process to ensure that it was fair and followed the requirements outlined in the request for proposals. The report of the fairness adviser concluded that the process for selecting the preferred proponent was open, fair and equitable. The fairness adviser’s report will be made publicly available once completed on Partnerships BC’s website.

The Province is making record investments in health-care facilities at KGH. The IHSC building is part of the overall Interior Heart and Surgical Centre Project. The project includes the East Pandosy Clinical Support Building, as well as renovations and fit-outs of existing buildings at KGH. The project is being developed as a public-private partnership with capital funding from the province and the Central Okanagan Regional Hospital District.

The IHSC building will be constructed at the corner of Pandosy Street and Rose Avenue. The existing Pandosy building will be deconstructed to make way for the new IHSC building.

It was a huge day for Kelowna General Hospital on March 28. You could feel the excitement on the KGH campus all day long as preparations were made for the landing of the first ever helicopter on the new helipad atop the Centennial Building at KGH.

The sound of helicopter blades could be heard faintly from across Okanagan Lake at abou 3:15 p.m. Within minutes the helicopter flown by Jim Barker of Alpine Helicopters (kindly donated for the test flight by Alpine) could be seen circling the hospital campus. Down below, onlookers craned their necks skyward to watch the helicopter as it took a turn out to the lake and came back in for its final approach.

The helicopter landed as gently as a feather on the 18-metre wide helipad at 3:30 p.m. Following a debriefing in which hospital personnel, construction staff and emergency services personnel discussed the landing, Jim and his helicopter took off again at about 4:00 p.m. This time, he headed northeast toward Dilworth Mountain and circled the hospital once more before heading back across the lake.

Check out the photos of the helicopter landing and some stunning aerial shots of the Kelowna General Hospital campus.

The flight had a serious purpose, of course. It was a test to ensure the helipad was working properly, and to monitor the impacts on the hospital and neighbourhood. That’s why the helicopter arrived from the west and departed to the northeast. The western approach is the primary flight path. But the northeastern approach is a secondary path in the event of negative weather conditions. The flight was a success all around, and while there was some noticeable noise, observers noted that it was remarkably quiet and non-disruptive.

The landing marks the first time a helicopter has landed on a hospital-based rooftop helipad anywhere in Interior Health.

The inclusion of the helipad in the construction of the new Centennial Building will be extremely beneficial to patients throughout the Interior who may require emergency medical attention, whether as a result of severe trauma or life-threatening conditions such as cardiac arrest. The helipad will reduce patient transport times by up to half an hour — a critical 30 minutes in the most serious cases. It will also be important to the new cardiac program, which will see the first open heart surgery performed at KGH in December 2012.

The heliport will begin accepting real patients on May 27, the day the Centennial and East Pandosy Buildings open at KGH.

The countdown is on at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH). Under 100 days remain until the new Centennial and East Pandosy buildings open.

Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick and other dignitaries joined physicians, staff, volunteers and community members today to unveil a special clock that will count down the days until both buildings open at 7 a.m. on Sunday, May 27, 2012.

“It’s an exciting time around Kelowna General Hospital,” said Letnick, on behalf of Michael de Jong, Minister of Health. “We now have under 100 days until the Centennial and East Pandosy buildings open, bringing a higher quality of care for Southern Interior residents for years to come.”

Construction on the Centennial Building began Nov. 17, 2008. The Centennial Building forms the cornerstone of the expansion of patient care services in the Central Okanagan, as part of the Kelowna and Vernon Hospitals Project. This $433-million project also includes a new patient care tower in Vernon, as well as the UBC faculty of medicine and Interior Health Clinical Academic Campus at KGH.

Construction on the East Pandosy Building began Feb. 11, 2011. It will bring lab and clinical support services under one roof. The East Pandosy Building will support the $448 million Interior Heart and Surgical Centre (IHSC) Project by allowing the relocation of existing hospital departments for construction to start on the IHSC building.

“We are another step closer towards offering brand-new health-care facilities to Central Okanagan residents,” said Norman Embree, Interior Health Board chair. “I am looking forward to the opening of these buildings on time and on budget in just a few short months. These buildings will help to ensure continuing and improving high-quality patient care at Kelowna General Hospital for years to come.”

The Centennial Building will add a total of about 33,445 square metres (360,000 square feet) of space to the KGH site. The building will consolidate and modernize a series of programs and services to improve health service delivery, including expanded emergency and ambulatory care departments, new larger operating rooms, a rooftop helipad, a new renal department and eye care clinic.

The Centennial Building will also include the relocation of the McNair Mental Health and Substance Use Unit and 34 medical teaching inpatient beds. A further 7,848 square metres (84,470 square feet) of clinical support space will be available in the East Pandosy Building.

“These buildings will provide us with an exceptional level of patient care and support,” said James Baker, vice-chair of the Central Okanagan Regional Hospital District, which is contributing more than $190 million to the construction of new facilities at KGH. “The Centennial and East Pandosy buildings will offer much welcome space to meet the patient care needs of Central Okanagan residents now and well into the future.”

The buildings were constructed using the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) whole building approach to sustainability and will be LEED Gold certified. They were designed from a patient-focused perspective, with extensive input from clinical staff, and will offer an enhanced environment for healing, with particular acknowledgement of the needs of the elderly, who are both patients and visitors.

Check out the before and after photos of KGH.

Infusion Health General Manager Ken Stewart, Interior Health CEO Dr. Robert Halpenny, Interior Health Board Chair Norman Embree and Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick celebrate the finish of construction with the handing over of a ceremonial key in the form of a security swipe card to the KGH Centennial Building.

Infusion Health and Graham Design Builders presented Interior Health with the keys to the Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) Centennial Building at a ceremony on January 26, 2012.

The ceremonial handover of the keys marks the successful completion of construction of the new six-storey tower, which is slated to begin receiving patients on May 27, 2012.

“We are extremely grateful for the hard work and dedication of the skilled team at Graham Design Builders and Stantec Consulting,” said Infusion Board Chair Damien Joy. “Thanks to their exemplary effort, and that of their sub-trades, we were able to complete this project ahead of schedule and on budget.”

Infusion Health KVH General Partnership is the company selected by Interior Health in 2008 to design, build, finance and maintain new hospital facilities in Kelowna and Vernon. Graham Design Builders was the company hired by Infusion to design and build the new tower. Stantec was in turn hired by Graham to do the design.

“This project is another excellent example of the teamwork at the heart of the Infusion Health partnership,” said Dave Corcoran, Graham Design Builders’ Project Director. “We are proud to have been part of building what we believe is one of the best health care facilities in the province today.”

A key aspect of the partnership between Interior Health and Infusion Health is the agreement to have Infusion Health maintain the facilities at KGH. Their services provider, Black & MacDonald, has been providing facilities maintenance services at KGH and Vernon Jubilee Hospital since July 1, 2009, and will continue to do so until 2042.

“On behalf of the Interior Health Authority, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Infusion Health and Graham Design Builders for the outstanding service they have provided to date,” said Norman Embree, Interior Health Board Chair. “This has been an extremely productive partnership, and we look forward to continued collaboration with the team at Black & MacDonald in the months and years to come as they ensure the smooth maintenance of these much-needed facilities.”

Wait times for the life-saving procedure have been reduced by 87 per cent, and the survival rate is well above the national average.

“By being able to do PCI procedures here in the Southern Interior we are saving more lives and making things easier emotionally and financially for our patients and their families,” said Dr. Richard Townley, Interior Health cardiologist and PCI Program Director. “As a doctor, I couldn’t ask for a bigger reward.”

Of the 1,885 percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) – also known as angioplasties – performed at KGH since Nov. 16, 2009, almost half involved patients from outside the Okanagan region:

• Okanagan-Similkameen: 55.3 per cent
• Thompson-Cariboo: 26.3 per cent
• Kootenay-Boundary: 11.9 per cent
• East Kootenay: 1.5 per cent
• Non-residents: 4.7 per cent

“The statistics speak for themselves. By expanding services to include cardiac care, we are improving health outcomes for patients throughout the Southern Interior,” said Norman Embree, Interior Health Authority board chair.

Prior to the start of the Interior Health PCI Program in November 2009, the median wait time in hospital for Southern Interior residents needing a cardiac angioplasty was 3.7 days, not including the time and expense involved in travelling to the Lower Mainland for treatment.

The median wait time is now just under half a day, and travel distances to Kelowna are much shorter for all patients and their families.

The national average mortality rate for PCI patients is 1.69 per 100. The average mortality rate for patients in the IH program is 0.53 per 100 (risk adjusted).

“Cardiac patients in the Southern Interior are receiving top-notch care thanks to the incredible doctors, surgeons and health-care professionals who make this program possible,” said Steve Thomson, MLA for Kelowna-Mission. “By working together to make this program a reality, we are truly making a difference in people’s lives.”

PCIs were previously only performed at four hospitals in British Columbia: Royal Columbian Hospital, Royal Jubilee Hospital, St. Paul’s Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital.

The Interior Health Cardiac Revascularization Program is operating in collaboration with the other cardiac centres in the province. Cardiac services are provided by Cardiac Services BC, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. It works with the regional health authorities, including Interior Health, to promote best practices and evidence-based cardiac care.

Cardiac services are being rolled out at KGH in a phased approach. This started with the Transition Plan, which included up to $27 million in upgrades and new equipment, and will see doctors performing heart surgeries at KGH beginning in December 2012. The final phase will include a brand new cardiac care and surgical centre – the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre (IHSC) Building.

The IHSC Building is part of the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre Project, which includes the East Pandosy Clinical Support Building as well as renovations and fit-outs of existing buildings at KGH. The total value of the IHSC project is $448 million with $357 million from the Province and $91 million from the Central Okanagan Regional Hospital District and is expected to be complete in 2017.

Over the next three years, British Columbia’s health-care system will benefit from investments such as the IHSC as part of a $2.1-billion health sector capital plan.

Norm Letnick, MLA Kelowna-Lake Country, and representatives from Interior Health, Infusion Health, Graham Design Builders and UBC Faculty of Medicine Southern Medical Program unveiled a plaque today recognizing the LEED Canada Gold certification of the Clinical Academic Campus (CAC) at Kelowna General Hospital.

“The CAC is the first certified LEED Canada building and the first Gold certified building in Kelowna and the Okanagan,” said Letnick. “This is a great achievement of which everyone involved should be proud.”

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health:
• sustainable site development
• water efficiency
• energy efficiency
• materials selection
• indoor environmental quality

“While Interior Health’s goal is to improve the health and wellness of its residents, we understand the linkage between health and the environment,” said Ken Burrows, director with the Interior Health board. “The Clinical Academic Campus is a good example of reducing our environmental impact while at the same time expanding facilities and services.”

The Clinical Academic Campus at KGH is the home of the UBC Faculty of Medicine Southern Medical Program and UBC Rural Family Practice Residency Program. This 34,000-square-foot stand-alone facility officially opened on January 25, 2010 and includes a 180-seat lecture theatre, and specialized video-conferencing rooms and clinical skills areas for medical undergraduates and post-graduate residents. In addition, the Interior Health Dr. Clifford B. Henderson Library and KGH staff are located in this shared building.

The CAC is part of the overall expansion of health-care facilities in Kelowna and Vernon, including the new Polson Tower at Vernon Jubilee Hospital, and the new Centennial Tower under construction at Kelowna General Hospital, a combined investment of $432 million.

Together with their supply chain, Infusion Health designed, financed, built and will operate the Kelowna and Vernon Hospital projects on a long-term basis.

“Infusion Health’s job was to deliver a LEED certified building on time and on budget, an accomplishment we’re celebrating today with our partners,” said Ken Stewart, facilities and operations manager with Infusion Health.

Interior Health is recognized provincially and nationally for its environmental accomplishments. Interior Health was named the Energy & Environmental Stewardship Award recipient for 2011 from the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL), the first organization in Western Canada to receive this award.

Health Minister Michael de Jong, Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster, physicians and staff officially opened the Polson Tower at Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH) on October 13, 2011.

“The Polson Tower is helping to build better patient care in the North Okanagan,” said de Jong. “This state-of-the-art facility is part of our continued investment in the health-care needs of Interior residents.”

The $180-million Polson Tower has added 16,815 square metres (181,000 square feet) of space to the VJH site. More space has allowed for the expansion of operating rooms and the emergency department.

“I have followed this project since the beginning and am pleased to see the completion of the Polson Tower,” said Foster. “Even with this new space, we will continue to monitor capacity levels here at Vernon Jubilee Hospital. This investment will greatly benefit North Okanagan families for years to come.”

Highlights of the new tower include:

• The creation of new intensive care and coronary units.
• New maternity/paediatrics ward with direct links to operating rooms.
• New and more efficient central sterilization services.
• Expanded ambulatory care and outpatient clinics.
• New ambulance space.
• Full integration with the existing hospital.

The expanded and modernized facilities at Vernon Jubilee Hospital provide a better environment for patients and staff. A series of programs and services have also been modernized and consolidated to improve patient care. Vacated space within VJH will leave room for other programs and services.

“With larger spaces, improved efficiencies, and the latest technology, this new tower will enable our physicians and staff to provide the excellent care for which they are known in a much improved environment,” said Interior Health Board Chair Norman Embree.

The Polson Tower is part of the Kelowna and Vernon Hospitals Project, which is all about building better care for Interior residents. Construction of a new UBC medical school building and the Centennial Patient Care Tower at Kelowna General Hospital are all part of this $432-million project.

“With growing excitement, we have watched this building rise out of the ground for three years now,” said Rhona Martin, chair of the North Okanagan Columbia Shuswap Regional Hospital District, which provided $67.4 million to the project. “Today is an historic day for the residents of this area, and we should celebrate the accomplishment of improved patient care for the whole region.”

From the groundbreaking in November 2008 to patient occupancy in September 2011, the successful project was completed on time and on budget. The Polson Tower was built as a public-private partnership with Infusion Health, who will continue with building maintenance over the life of the contract.

Built to LEED Gold standards, the seven-storey Polson Tower was designed from a patient-focused perspective, with extensive input from clinical staff. The new tower offers an enhanced environment for healing with a focus on the elderly, who are both patients and visitors.

The Polson Tower is named after Samuel Polson, who in 1908 donated the land on which the current hospital resides.

Sunday, September 25, 2011 will go down in history in Vernon. That was the day the new Vernon Jubilee Hospital Polson Tower received its first patients, completed its first operation, and delivered its first baby.

Workers and volunteers began arriving at 4:00 a.m. to prepare for the transfer of patients to the new tower. A patient move plan was put together, teams assembled in the cafeteria of the West Wing, and received last minute instructions about how the move would take place.

The doors closed on the old Emergency Department at 7:00 a.m. and immediately opened on the new Emergency Department in the Polson Tower.

At 8:30 a.m. the patient transfer began. Wayne Bentson was the first patient transferred, from the old Coronary Care Unit to the new one. From there a patient was moved approximately every three minutes. In total 29 patients moved over from the West Wing to the Polson Tower. They came from the ICU/CCU, Maternity/Child Unit and other inpatient beds. In total, the patient transfer took about two hours. There was lots more work to do, however, as equipment continued to be moved into the new tower, and staff began to familiarize themselves with the new spaces they will get to look after patients in.

The last baby born in the West Wing came into the world via C-section in the evening of Saturday, September 24, and the first baby arrived on early Sunday afternoon, September 25. It was an appropriate metaphor for the day, said Move Commander Assunta Shepherd, who described the year-long process of preparing for the move as akin to delivering a new baby for the community of Vernon!

Pandosy Street was closed to traffic first thing in the morning on Saturday, September 17, and the crane was rolled into place. Four cables were attached to the bridge. It took over an hour to tension the cables to ensure each cable was holding exactly the same weight. Any differences might mean the bridge would not be raised level. And that couldn’t be allowed to happen, since the operators only had about 4 inches of space between the buildings to work with — the width of 5 dimes placed end to end.

The lift itself took about an hour and a half, and was completed before noon on September 17 with a couple of hundred curious neighbours looking on. The remainder of the day was spent welding and bolting the bridge to support columns that will bear the bridge’s weight. The bridge will open on May 27, 2012, the same day the Centennial and East Pandosy Buildings open to patients.

The RFP follows the announcement of the shortlist in June. Three teams were selected from six that responded to the request for qualifications, which closed on May 9. The three teams selected to move forward to the RFP stage were:

• Alliance Health Group
• Jade Health
• Plenary Health

The RFP can be found on Partnerships BC’s website. Technical submissions from the shortlisted teams are due Dec. 20, 2011, with financial submissions due March 15, 2012. A preferred proponent will be selected by spring 2012, with construction getting underway in summer 2012.

The IHSC building is scheduled to open to the public in 2016. The IHSC building will include a brand new home for the Interior cardiac revascularization program, as well as a new surgical suite, and support services, including a new medical device reprocessing department.

The successful team will be asked to design, build, finance and maintain the new IHSC building for a term of 30 years post-construction and to deliver renovations to 3,000 square metres (32,300 square feet) of the existing Royal building at KGH to provide support services related to the IHSC.

The IHSC will create a permanent home for the fifth provincial cardiac revascularization program in B.C. – and the first one outside of Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Once complete, the cardiac services program will provide about 1,600 cardiac patients each year with cardiac care closer to home.