Corner Brook's new hospital to open 17 years after first promised

After 17 years of planning, Corner Brook's new hospital is set to open next springbut some people are concerned about what will actually be offered inside the new acute-care building.

Construction started in August 2019 on the $723-millionbuild. The seven-storey structure is in its final stages of construction, with crews painting lines on the parking lot as of this week.

The hospital, with the attached 145-bed long-term care building, can be seen from vantage pointsall over the hilly city on Newfoundland's west coast.

"I'm excited to get people up into the building, to get staff in. We are at a really exciting stage and really looking forward to that first-patient day," said Jason Rowsell, N.L. Health Services' senior director of new facilities.

The facility totals over 55,000 square metres. ContractorsPlenary Group, PCL Constructors Canada, Marco Servicesand Johnson Controls Canada have until November to complete the building.

That's when Rowsell and his team get the keys and start moving into the new space. Rowsell says the transition could take months or even a year to complete, and will include all departments using a combination of old and new equipment while they train and transfer to the new location.

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"In essence we have to take a building and turn it into a hospital a hospital that's ready to accept patients and provide high patient care on Day 1," he said.

That day, he says, will come next spring.

A new hospitalto replace the aging Western Memorial Regional Hospital was first promised in September 2007 by Danny Williams's government.

"It's great to see the building getting built," said Gerald Parsons, co-chair of the hospital action committee.

"2007, and this is '23. That's a long time to wait for a new hospital."

Controversy over PET scanner

For the past 2years, Health Services has been purchasing new equipment forthe hospital. By August, the health authority will have completed procurement, and installation can begin in December.

One controversial item is the positron emission tomography scanner in the new radiation unit.

Corner Brook has never offered radiation services before. The new radiation therapy care model at the hospital will focus on standardized radiation therapy treatments for patients who may have cancer in the breast, prostate or lung, for example. Radiation therapy services for other tumour groups may be phased in after a few years, according to the Department of Health.

Patients living in western Newfoundlandcurrently have to travel to St. John's for treatment.

Parsons, who advocates for better health care on the west coast, says previous government leadership promised a PET scanner to go in that radiation unit.

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The PET scanner is a multimillion-dollar imaging technology that checks for diseases in the body. There is a PET/CT scanner in St. John's that was installed four years ago and cost$46 million.

The provincial government allocated $2 million in a trust in January 2021 to go toward a PET scanner in Corner Brook, if and when it's deemed necessary by the provincial cancer-care and medical-imaging teams.

Parsons says past governments promised a PET scanner. He's wary, and left wonderingif the new hospital will ever see the technology.

"I'm lost for words. [They] make a decision on things, and it changes after," he said.

Parsons says there's been no dialogue with the hospital action committee on the status of the trust money or the plan for the high-end scanning equipment.

"We need it," he said.

"Corner Brook is a seniors' town, and look at the cancers. Every second person has cancer and has to travel to St. John's for radiation, and there is no need of it."

New, better facility

Rowsellsays he and his team have been working for years to plan the hospital's interiorand improve care for patients in western Newfoundland.

That means installing natural lighting, betting navigation and signage and enhancements to the mental health section with outdoor space and family areas.

The new hospital will have 164 beds, all in separate rooms, and a larger parking lot with 1,100 spaces.

"Everything is much more spacious," he said.

"We are really excited about all the changesand what it's going to mean for patients in western Newfoundland and Labrador."

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