With phase one of the St. Mary's Hospital expansion project now roughly 75 per cent complete, anticipation for the October move-in date has been building - just like expectations of the initial challenges it could create.
In order to begin work on phase two, the new lobby and the existing emergency department will have to be vacated, as well as obstetrics, diagnostic imaging and the intensive care and in-patient units.
A temporary corridor is planned on the northeast side of the building to help accomplish that feat while connecting the old and new facilities until the lobby is completed.
"When we start doing this lobby and lobby extension, that's when we're going to screw people up a bit," said senior project manager Don Jenion, who warned residents that there might be traffic implications.
Emergency drop-offs will still be possible, but Jenion said drivers and patients will "just have to be alert" to avoid any unnecessary congestion.
Upon completion, phase two of the project will see ambulatory care taking the place of the existing in-patient unit. The ambulance entrance will move to the southeast side of the building.
The tentative date for completion of phase two is next March, with the new building pegged around this December.
"Be aware of changes, traffic flow changes," said Jenion. "It's unavoidable. We'll minimize the disruption, but there will still be some disruption, you can't avoid it. We'll try to minimize it, mitigate all safety and risk issues and so on."
During the new hospital's construction, a standing committee was created to consider the impacts of ongoing work at the site.
Meeting bi-weekly, the group has been instrumental in helping planners to avoid or mitigate the project's impacts by inviting those affected to discuss their concerns.
One of the ongoing challenges has been parking, a situation that as of now will only improve, according to Jenion.
"Work that's going on there now, it caused a loss of an additional 20 stalls. So we're at the bottom right now; we're at the low point as far as parking goes," he said. "If we can survive this until November, then suddenly all the parking will become available again."
An arrangement with the Sechelt Indian Band has allowed Vancouver Coastal Health to establish a temporary overflow parking lot across the street near Raven's Cry Theatre.
With contract documents nearly complete to pursue an agreement to have the old hospital renovated, a request for tender is also expected to take place sometime this summer.
The renovation project is expected to cost roughly $4 to $4.5 million.
The total cost of the St. Mary's expansion and renovation was recently estimated to be $43.6 million.
In Nov. 2011, the Sunshine Coast Regional District approved a request for $365,668 for new equipment at the hospital, including a multi-purpose X-ray and fluoroscopic imaging unit.
"It's just starting to pop up now on Ti'Ta Way. You can see it, it has an impact," Jenion said.
"We're very proud of that, that it's now one of the first things you see when you come into Sechelt. It makes a difference."
