Among the highlights of National Mental Health Week in the Battlefords was an event Tuesday marking the progress in building the new Saskatchewan Hospital.
Construction of the new 284-bed hospital and integrated correctional facility is well underway to the west of the current hospital.
At an event held outside on the grounds of the existing hospital, provincial minister of Rural and Remote Health Greg Ottenbreit reported “construction is on track, moving ahead, and it’s on time and on budget.”
Construction officially began with a sod turning on a cold and windy day in September 2015, though pre-construction work had also gone on for some time before that.
Since then, according to vice-president of Graham Capital Matt Dekkers, bulk excavation of 77,000 cubic metres of earth has taken place, 11,000 square metres of foamwork has been assembled, 5,200 cubic metres of concrete have been poured and backfill activities have taken place. The erection of 400 metric tonnes of steel has begun on the site.
Dekkers told the audience the next step in the construction this summer is completion of the concrete work. “So you can see grey beams, foundation walls, head footings and elevator shafts all completed this summer. And then we’re going to finish erection of about 1,500 metric tonnes of steel.”
Water and sewer utilities will be ongoing work during the summer as well.
Once finished, the overall footprint of the building will amount to two-and-a-half CFL football fields, Dekkers said. The entire building area is almost five football fields, once you layer on the second floor and administrative areas.
Some 80 field staff are on site Tuesday and Dekkers said construction manpower is expected to peak at 300 field staff this winter and into the spring of 2017.
The building itself should be enclosed by the end of the year. The exterior façade, interior finishes, mechanical and field work should continue into 2017.
Graham Capital is part of Access Prairies Partnership that was awarded the contract for the design, building, financing and maintenance of the building.
The price tag for the project is $407 million, which includes not only construction of the building but also the 30-year contract to maintain it as like-new after construction is over.
The entire 33-month construction schedule is to be completed by June of 2018, which is two years from now.
Officials at the gathering Tuesday emphasized the new hospital was designed to put patients first.
Linda Shynkaruk, director of Saskatchewan Hospital, said the hospital was “driven by the principles set out by the patients. These principles include a connection to nature and natural light in every patient room. The new hospital is being built with places to make music, art and a space to congregate in small or large groups, places to share meals, to exercise, places to learn practical skills that will help patients manage in the outside world.”
Much has been made of the deteriorating condition of the present hospital. Reference was made by Shynkaruk of having to navigate through dark, dingy tunnels in the building. The elevators are also an issue.
One of the patients at the hospital, Carmelle Carlton, spoke about what it all meant for the patients. She has been a patient, on and off, at the hospital since 2009.
She noted that a lot of patchwork repairs were being done over the years to keep the existing hospital operating.
“The maintenance staff are always busy trying to keep up with repairs and malfunctions,” she said.
Carlton also said many people were being crowded into shared rooms, with up to seven or eight people having to share one bathroom. She said the new hospital would allow for separate rooms for patients and only two patients per washroom.
In speaking to reporters, Carlton said being in the existing building was “a little bit depressing, it doesn’t feel like I’m getting the proper mental health care there that I need because my surroundings are limited.”
She believes patients will be much more enthusiastic about the new facility.
“I think they’re going to become a lot more sprite. I think they’re going to be happier and more committed to their treatment programs and compliance with their medication orders and try to heal as well as they can further in the hospital.”
After the official program, those in attendance were able to venture over to the construction area to see for themselves the work that had been going on.
There was also a barbecue on the site, with proceeds from the sales of burgers, chips and soft drinks going towards the New Beginnings fundraising campaign to raise $8 million to furnish and equip the new hospital.
In speaking to reporters Ottenbreit said he was impressed with what was taking place at the construction site. “It’s great to see the progress,” he said.
Compared to other projects in the province Ottenbreit noted this one was “significant — one of the biggest, especially when you consider the footprint. The Children’s Hospital of course is a very big project as well. But it’s got a huge footprint and it is significant. But looking at what the purpose is going to serve and that it is under way, it’s very encouraging and we’re proud to be part of it.”
An issue Ottenbreit addressed briefly in speaking to reporters was about what might happen with the existing Saskatchewan Hospital building. The minister emphasized to reporters nothing is decided.
“That hasn’t been determined yet,” said Ottenbreit. “Talking even to Minister (Herb) Cox coming in here, there’s a whole bunch of different community proposals as what should happen to it, but there’s no definitive plan yet.”
