Fourteen years after a letter was sent from regional health care officials to B.C. Liberal health minister Kevin Falcon asking for a replacement to the aging and inadequate Mills Memorial Hospital, it is move-in week at that replacement, Ksyen Regional Hospital.
With twice as many beds as Mills Memorial, an expanded psychiatric unit, an expanded emergency room and first-time ever services such as advanced trauma care, orthopedic surgery and a specialized unit for newborns, the path from 2010 was not easy.
But now hospital employees and others skilled in the art of moving healthcare institutions are fully engaged this week leading up to the first official day of business scheduled for Nov. 24.
"This is a very exciting moment for the Northwest as we approach the opening of Ksyen Regional Hospital, Terrace," said Northern Health Authority chair Colleen Nyce.
"This new hospital will strengthen our network of services in the region and will bring improvements to healthcare access and services to all those who live in northwestern B.C.
"Moving into a new hospital is not a small task and I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for the project and transition teams who have worked tirelessly to ensure that this opening goes as smoothly as possible."
Here鈥檚 a timeline:
September 2010. The North West Regional Hospital District formally asks B.C. Liberal health minister Kevin Falcon to replace Mills Memorial.
November 2011. The North West Regional Hospital District backs up the Northern Health Authority in advocating for a replacement rather than a renovation of Mills Memorial.
2012. Work begins on a master plan, an early assessment of what doctors and nurses need at a new hospital.
September 2014. A first concept plan is finished, a document that projects size, services and costing for a new hospital.
2015-2016. While awaiting to see if the concept plan will be approved, lobbying continues for a new hospital.
August 2016. BC Liberal health minister Terry Lake, in responding to a letter from local health care officials, says he isn鈥檛 prepared to pay for a more detailed design, called a business plan, of what a new Mills might contain and what it might cost.
鈥淚t would not be prudent to invest significant resources in detailed planning prior to confirming funding sources for a major capital project,鈥� he said.
The North West Regional Hospital District says it will finance the study on its own at a cost of $3 million. That amount would be deducted from any final financial contribution to a new hospital.
August 2016. John Horgan, then NDP leader and the Leader of the Opposition, offers up his offices to Terrace city council as a base of operations to increase lobbying pressure on the BC Liberal government.
September 2016. BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark comes to Terrace to name Ellis Ross as her candidate for the May 2017 provincial election. But she declines to say if Mills will be replaced or if it should be extensively rebuilt.
October 2016. BC Liberal finance minister Mike de Jong tours Mills Memorial. He conceded its age but nothing more.
Nov. 3, 2016. Health minister Terry Lake, in a letter to the editor of The Terrace Standard, agrees that 鈥渢he hospital would benefit from a redevelopment; however a decision like this isn鈥檛 something that is taken lightly. We have a duty to British Columbians to consider all capital projects in the context of B.C.鈥檚 entire health system.鈥�
November 2016. Premier Christy Clark, pays another visit to the area and announces a business case study, something she said would provide direction for an extensive rebuild or a new facility.
鈥淲e really need to see what the next steps are,鈥� she said.
February 2017. Northern Health submits a new business case study to the health ministry for review.
Feb. 28, 2017. BC Liberal finance minister Mike de Jong returns to Terrace and, at a Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce luncheon, announces a new Mills will be built.
鈥淚 can confirm that there is money for a new hospital within the fiscal plan.鈥�
May 2017. Northern Health forwards a refreshed concept plan.
February 2018. NDP health care minister Adrian Dix provides approval to the concept plan, giving permission to move the project to the business plan stage. Construction estimates are in the $450 million range. A new hospital will be built on the same grounds as Mills Memorial.
March 2018. Officials announce the crucial financing plan whereby regional residents will pay 30 per cent and the province 70 per cent of an anticipated construction cost of $380 million.
For regional taxpayers, the 30 per cent works out to $110 million plus $3.7 million for the business plan. That figure is also capped, meaning no matter what happens, regional taxpayers will not pay more.
May 2019. Dix, back in Terrace and this time standing outside Mills Memorial, announces approval of the business plan, moving the project to the stage in which monies are allotted in provincial financial planning documents and a search for a project builder begins. The cost is now $447.5 million.
May 2019. Officials confirm that the Seven Sisters mental health facility will also need to be demolished to make room for the new hospital. A replacement will be built on the same grounds and contain 25 beds, five more than the original Seven Sisters.
November 2020. The current plan calls for project to be submitted to the provincial Treasury Board for final approval and, if approved, for contract signing with builder PCL Constructors Westcoast in December. Preliminary works are scheduled to start that month.
June 2021. With PCL Constructors Westcoast all but confirmed, site preparation is well underway.
July 21. The province formally announces its agreement with PCL. A new Seven Sisters is included in the agreement. The cost has also dramatically increased to $622.6 million. Regional taxpayers are not affected because of the 2019 agreement to cap their contribution.
November 2021. Northern Health announces it wants to add an advanced neo-natal intensive care unit, something not in the design and not in the budget. The projected cost is $14.5 million. Northern Health says the unit will boost the level of before and after birth care, dramatically reducing the need for northwestern residents to be sent elsewhere.
October 2022. Although projections called for a $14.5 million budget increase for the neo-natal intensive care unit, Northern Health instead adds $10 million, raising the hospital budget to $632.6 million.
April 2023. The Skeena Seniors Society begins an extensive campaign to prevent the original Seven Sisters from being torn down, saying it can be converted into housing for seniors or to function as a daycare centre for the children of healthcare employees. Their efforts are ultimately rejected with officials saying the building would need extensive work.
June 2023. The R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation agrees to take on the job of raising the money for the neo-natal intensive care unit and launches an ambitious drive called 'Closer To Home'. The slogan signifies the intent is to keep people in the region.
February 2024. The new Seven Sisters opens and the old one is demolished.
February 2024. Should everything go according to plan, Northern Health says the new hospital could be occupied by late 2024, several months ahead of schedule.
July 2024 - New equipment such as an MRI machine begins arriving. The new hospital will have brand-new equipment. Equipment now at Mills will be sent elsewhere for continued use.
August 2024. PCL formally presents the keys to the new hospital to Northern Health.
October 2024. The new hospital won't be called Mills Memorial Hospital. Instead, it will be called Ksyen (KUH-see-yen) Regional Hospital, the Sm'algya瘫x name for the Skeena River. Sm'algyax is the language spoken by the Tsimshian people. Northern Health says Dr. Stanley Mills, after whom Mills Memorial is named, will be featured on a history wall. The ambulatory care unit will also bear his name.
Nov. 24, 2024. The first patients are scheduled to be moved from Mills to Ksyen.
