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.

With less than a year to go until the Centennial and East Pandosy buildings open, activity on the construction site at KGH is intense and fast-paced, with over 250 workers on site at any given time.

If you travel on Pandosy Street at all, you will notice the speed at which the East Pandosy Building is going up. The concrete for the second of three floors has been poured and they are hard at work on columns and walls.

The East Pandosy Building is less technically complex from a construction perspective, and at just over 84,000 square feet, is much smaller than the 360,000 square foot Centennial Tower. Therefore construction can proceed at a much quicker pace. And it has to – after all, the two buildings will be connected by a third floor bridge link over Pandosy Street and will open on the same day: May 27, 2012.

The interior of the Centennial Tower continues to move ahead, with finishing being done in various areas on all floors. Cleaning is also underway in a number of areas on the first, second and third floors. As each area is completed and cleaned, it is locked off to prevent the need to go back in and clean all over again.

Now that summer is here (finally!) ground work has started on the exterior of the building, with the installation of the underground water retention system. Hardscaping will follow, with landscaping only being done once the building is ready for occupancy.

Graham Construction crews and their sub-trades are hard at work on building commissioning. What commissioning consists of is starting up all of the building mechanical and electrical systems to ensure they are operating properly. Connection to systems in existing facilities is now complete and is being tested.

Because of the amount of activity at the site recently, the regular Tuesday and Wednesday Centennial Building orientation tours for staff were halted temporarily, but have re-started this month. Please be patient as we try to get as many people into the building as possible to see their future work areas.

Six proponent teams responded to the RFQ. Following evaluation, three teams were shortlisted:

• Alliance Health Group
• Jade Health
• Plenary Health

The IHSC Building will be a state-of-the-art facility designed to accommodate cardiac and inpatient surgical suites, support space and a new medical device reprocessing department. The facility will also be designed to allow for future expansion.

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 Kelowna General Hospital (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.

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.

Construction of the IHSC Building will begin in the summer of 2012 and will be undertaken as a public private partnership. The IHSC Building is scheduled to open in 2016, with the final phase of the IHSC Project to be completed by 2017.

The final capital cost of the IHSC Building will be confirmed once the procurement process is complete and a contract is signed with the successful proponent. All health services will be funded by the public sector through Interior Health, in keeping with the Canada Health Act.

The IHSC Project is part of government’s $2.1-billion investment in health capital projects across the province.

Quick Facts:

• Over the life of the project, approximately 2,800 construction-related jobs are expected to be created as a result of the overall IHSC project.
• The new building will be designed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards, and will maximize the interior and exterior use of wood, in keeping with the Province’s Wood First Act.
• The Interior cardiac transition plan was initially announced in March 2009, following through on the Province’s commitment to bring cardiac services to KGH by 2012.
• In November 2009, KGH performed its first percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI – also known as angioplasty), as part of the transition plan.
• Renovations are currently underway to allow for heart surgeries to be done at the current site by 2012.
• Once fully operational, the program is expected to see 600 cardiac surgeries performed, along with almost 1,000 PCI procedures a year.

Proponent team profiles

Six teams responded to the RFQ to design, build, finance and maintain the IHSC Building at Kelowna General Hospital. After a thorough evaluation of the submissions against the criteria outlined in the RFQ, three teams were shortlisted. In alphabetical order, they are:

Team: Alliance Health Group

• Lend Lease Canada Inc.
• Gracorp Capital Advisors Ltd.
• Graham Design-Build Services
• Stantec Inc.
• Honeywell International Inc.
• Black & McDonald Ltd.

Team: Jade Health

• VINCI Investments Limited
• VINCI Construction
• Ledcor Design/Build (BC) Inc.
• Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning Ltd.
• Arup Canada Inc.
• VINCI Facilities
• Black & McDonald Ltd.

Team: Plenary Health

• Plenary Group
• HOK Architects
• CEI Architecture Planning Interiors
• PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc
• Johnson Controls Inc.
• Black & McDonald Ltd.

Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster and other dignitaries joined physicians, staff, volunteers and community members at Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH) today to unveil a special clock that will count down the final 100 days until the new Polson Tower opens.

“Today is a very special milestone in the evolution in patient care in the North Okanagan,” said Foster. “In just 100 days we will welcome the first patients into this state-of-the-art new tower. Those patients and the many more that will come after them will receive the same excellent care they have come to expect from our health care professionals in a vastly improved health care setting.”

Construction on the $180 million Polson Tower began November 17, 2008. It will open for patients at 6 a.m. on Sunday, September 25, 2011.

The tower forms the cornerstone of the expansion of patient care services in the North Okanagan, and will support Interior Health in meeting demand projections and setting the stage for excellence in affordable, public health care service delivery.

“We are another step closer towards offering brand-new health care facilities to North Okanagan residents,” said Norman Embree, Interior Health Board Chair. “I am looking forward to the opening of this tower in just a few short months. This building will help to ensure continuing and improving high quality patient care at Vernon Jubilee Hospital for years to come.”

The Polson Tower will add a total of 231,000 square feet of space to the VJH site. A further 50,000 square feet of clinical space will be freed up in the existing West Wing of VJH. The tower will consolidate and modernize a series of programs and services to improve health service delivery, including expanded Emergency and Ambulatory Care departments, new Intensive Care and Coronary Care units, new larger Operating Rooms and a new Women’s and Children’s Health Services department.

“This tower will provide an exceptional level of patient care and support,” said Rhona Martin, Chair of the North Okanagan Columbia Shuswap Regional Hospital District, which contributed $67.4 million to the project. “The Polson Tower will provide space to meet the patient care needs of North Okanagan residents now and well into the future.”

The tower was built using the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) whole building approach to sustainability and will be LEED Gold certified. It was 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 a fact-a-day about Vernon Jubilee Hospital.

Learn what the new Polson Tower is all about and how it’s helping build patient care.