Williams Lake: The B.C. government said work is underway to update and expand Cariboo Memorial Hospital.
According to the province, the redevelopment work will improve access to care for people in Williams Lake and surrounding Cariboo-Chilcotin area, including the First Nations of the Secwépemc, Tŝ ilhqot’in and Dãkelh Dené.
The B.C. government said the project includes a three-storey addition, as well as renovations to the existing facility.
The redevelopment will add 25 new beds for a total of 53. This includes a new medical/surgical inpatient unit with 36 beds (an increase of 16), a new mental-health and substance-use inpatient unit with eight single-occupancy rooms, a patient-seclusion room and an expanded ambulatory-care and oncology unit with 16 renovated treatment spaces, the province added.
“There will be a new emergency department with 23 treatment spaces (an increase of 12), two trauma-treatment bays, a seclusion room, an ambulance carport and a separate public entrance. The new addition will have an expanded maternity and women’s health unit with four single-occupancy rooms for maternity care, two nursery rooms and two women’s health beds in private rooms. The pharmacy will be expanded, providing additional space for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. An interfaith sacred space will allow for traditional cultural and healing practices. There will be 71 new parking stalls,” the province said in a statement.
“The redevelopment of the Cariboo Memorial Hospital represents a significant investment in the Cariboo-Chilcotin communities’ health and well-being, now and into the future,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.