In March 2021, we broke ground at Station Street, marking an important milestone in our journey to transform health care. This month, almost exactly a year later, we’re marking another milestone – the start of the ‘building’ phase!
To celebrate, representatives from the New St. Paul’s Hospital and Health Campus Project Team placed commemorative items in the freshly poured concrete for the foundation’s footing, honouring the hospital’s past, present, and future.
This included 1894 coins for St. Paul’s Hospital’s beginning, 2022 coins to represent the present day 128 years later, and a silver coin imprinted with a Beaver design from Kwakwaka’wakw artist Beau Dick to support Sulksun’s (Knowledge Keeper Shane Pointe) vision of the Squah-low, the Beaver that was shared at the Site Blessing Ceremony in July 2021.
Like a beaver that can change its environment, Providence and St. Paul’s Hospital are striving to change health care so it is truly person-focused and culturally safe.
From left to right: 1894 coin, 2022 coin, and silver coin with Beaver artwork from Kwakwaka’wakw artist Beau Dick.
Some Project members also placed their hand in the concrete footing as a symbol of the team’s contribution in designing and building the new hospital facility.
You can watch construction on our live webcam or check out the webcam TV outside the cafeteria at St. Paul’s Hospital.
By the end of 2022, you might even see the main floor of our new hospital peek out from the ground. In the meantime, the project is working to get the design of the hospital to the finish line and to rev up planning for how we’ll transform care.
Bringing designs to the finish line
The feedback will be brought forward to the 70% detailed design stage focusing on IT device placement and finalizing room design. This stage will wrap up in late summer.
But before cardboard becomes concrete walls of the new hospital, in late 2022 PCL will construct fully-built mock rooms that will provide a good sense of what the future St. Paul’s Hospital will look like. These won’t be made out of cardboard or paper. Instead, the rooms will have real walls, ceilings, equipment, furniture, plugs and switches.
As Claire says, “It’s our final chance to do the due diligence to ensure the design will meet the needs for our patients and staff.”
By the end of 2022, the 90% detailed design stage will be nearly complete and the team will finalize hospital designs in 2023. To view the latest floorplans, head to EngageNSPH.ca (login using the red button and your network login).
