The medical & economic benefits of hospital redevelopment
TONYA LAMBERT C
onstruction of the $267-million new wing at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital is complete. The 30,800-square-
metre development project has been a significant contributor to economic activity within the city for the past four years and will continue to have a noticeable, if somewhat different, impact on the local economy for years to come.
According to Diamond Schmitt Architects, the project was undertaken to remedy capacity and space restraints. The new 23,200-square-metre, six-storey wing will house the hospital’s outpatient clinic, cardio-respiratory services, a renal program, maternal newborn services, sterile processing unit, six new and upgraded surgical units and a cancer centre. A new heliport was also installed.
In addition to the construction of the new wing, 7,600 square metres of space in the existing hospital will also
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be renovated. These renovations will include the expansion of the emergency department including roughed-in space for the future development of a diagnostic imaging area, an expanded day procedures department and physiotherapy and occupational therapy clinics. The expansion will double the size of the existing emergency department — from 20 to 38 beds. It will also include a designated minor treatment area, six treatment rooms for mental health and eye care, large trauma resuscitation rooms where multiple traumas may be dealt with at once, two large isolation rooms, a decontamination room and a large function procedure room. Work on this will not begin until later in 2017, once all departmental moves to the new wing have been completed.
The project provided much needed jobs and other economic stimuli during the recent downturn.
“For the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital Expansion project, a significant amount of work was performed by local firms and trade workers,” says Jason Bengert, project director of Stuart Olson. “Several contracts were awarded to local construction firms, in addition to engaging local consultants and testing firms. Beyond this, firms that were engaged from outside the Medicine
Hat area to perform large contracts, often hired local workers to supplement their out-of-town workforce. The accommodation of out-of-town workers varied from company to company, depending on the needs of the project. Larger contracts that spanned many months rented local apartments to house out-of-town workers, while workers who were required for a shorter duration or sporadic work often stayed in local hotels.”
“To positively contribute to our LEED rating,” continued Bengert, “local suppliers were engaged whenever possible to reduce our freight costs. This resulted in a combination of both local and out-of-town consultants, trades, workers, partners and suppliers throughout the project lifecycle.” The project received a LEED rating of silver."
“It was a nice construction project to keep our people busy during the downturn,” says Mayor Ted Clugston. “The spinoff is that we are the regional health provider for southeast Alberta and even into Saskatchewan. So, I don’t want to call it ‘health tourism’ but when people have medical needs, they end up having to come to Medicine Hat and perhaps stay a night. Their misfortune, I suppose, is our fortune.” ❚
41240350/03/28/2017
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