“We are another step closer towards offering brand-new health-care facilities to Okanagan residents,” said Norman Embree, Interior Health Board chair. “I am looking forward to the opening of these buildings on time and on budget in just a few short months. These buildings will help to ensure continuing and improving high-quality patient care at Kelowna General Hospital for years to come.”
The Centennial Building will add a total of about 33,445 square metres (360,000 square feet) of space to the KGH site. The building will consolidate and modernize a series of programs and services to improve health service delivery, including expanded emergency and ambulatory care departments, new larger operating rooms, a rooftop helipad, a new renal department and eye care clinic.
The Centennial Building will also include the relocation of the McNair Mental Health and Substance Use Unit and 34 medical teaching inpatient beds. A further 7,848 square metres (84,470 square feet) of clinical support space will be available in the East Pandosy Building.
The buildings were constructed using the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) whole building approach to sustainability and will be LEED Gold certified. They were 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.
Some history: Kelowna General Hospital originally opened on August 2, 1908 with 19 beds on the land that was donated by Kelowna Land & Orchard Company. This building remained until 1940 when the a new hospital building was constructed. This building still stands today as the Pandosy Building, although it will be demolished in Summer 2012 to make way for a cardiac clinic. In 1969, the five storey Strathcona building was constructed, followed by the five storey Royal Building in 1992. Construction of the new six storey Centennial Tower began in 2008 and will be complete on May 27, 2012.
Picture of new parts of KGH under construction supplied by peachlandnews.com with thanks