One year to opening of new KGH buildings

KGH Administrator Tracy MacDonald, KGH Chief of Staff Dr. Jan McIntosh, KGH Manager of Ambulatory Care Dr. Sandy Nash, Interior Health Board Director Erwin Malzer, and patient Bruce Boggiss are joined by MLAs Ben Stewart, Eric Foster and Norm Letnick in cutting the cake to celebrate one year to opening of the new Centennial and East Pandosy buildings at Kelowna General Hospital.

Okanagan MLAs joined physicians, staff, volunteers and community members at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) today to mark one year until the new Centennial and East Pandosy Buildings open.

“Today marks a significant milestone in patient care across the region,” said Eric Foster, MLA for Vernon-Monashee. “In 365 days the Centennial Patient Care Tower will welcome its first patient. There is also now a year until the East Pandosy Building opens which will provide vital support services.”

The Centennial Building is part of the $432 million Kelowna and Vernon Hospitals Project, which includes new patient care towers in Kelowna and Vernon, as well as the UBC Faculty of Medicine and Interior Health Clinical Academic Campus at KGH.

“We are another step closer towards offering brand-new health care facilities to Interior residents,” said Norm Letnick, MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country. “I am excited for the opening of these new buildings in just a matter of months. These facilities will help to ensure high quality patient care continues here at Kelowna General Hospital for years to come.”

The East Pandosy Building is part of the $448 million Interior Heart and Surgical Centre (IHSC) Project. Its construction will support the relocation of existing hospital departments to allow for the start of construction of the IHSC building beginning in 2012. The East Pandosy Building will house laboratory and clinical support departments.

“These new buildings will provide an exceptional level of patient care and support,” said Ben Stewart, MLA for Westside-Kelowna. “The Centennial Patient Care Tower will ensure patients receive timely care when every second counts, while the East Pandosy Building will be a critical component of the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre Project.”

Construction on the six-storey Centennial Building began in November 2008. It includes a new and expanded emergency department and ambulatory care department, five new operating rooms, a rooftop helipad, an expanded adult inpatient psychiatric unit, and new and relocated inpatient beds, and extra space for more patient beds in the future.

“It’s exciting to know that in a mere year from now these buildings will be fully operational, adding to the exceptional service provided here at Kelowna General Hospital,” said Steve Thomson, MLA for Kelowna-Mission. “Many people have worked extremely hard to get where we are today. These last few months will go quickly and soon patients and staff will see the benefits of years of hard work.”

The East Pandosy building will be a three-storey, 84,500 square-foot building connected to KGH by an enclosed bridge across Pandosy Street to the 360,000 square-foot Centennial Building.

“The construction of these new buildings has been a significant undertaking. It’s involved thousands of hours of work from hundreds of people, and I want to thank everyone at KGH and within Interior Health who has contributed to this project, and for their patience as we build patient care,” said Interior Health Board Chair Norman Embree. “We look forward to the day one year from today when we can all celebrate as a community the opening of these great new buildings.”