Tag Archives: Capital Project

Featured, News Release

First Renovated Wing Completed in Leader as Capital Construction Project Continues

The capital expansion project in Leader, including various renovations and enhancements to the interior of the existing long-term care side of the facility, continues to reach new construction milestones and remains on schedule to open its doors as the Leader and District Integrated Healthcare Facility in summer 2018.

The first of three wings to undergo renovations at the Western Senior Citizens Home was completed on October 27 with residents re-occupying the wing on October 30.  The completed work included safety improvements with the installation of ceiling lifts, a new handheld nurse call system, and improved hand rails.  New LED lighting, paint, curtains, and flooring were also installed. The small-house model of care is being introduced, promoting resident choice and addressing known challenges with traditional long-term care delivery models such as loneliness and boredom.

Edna Dieterle and Art Trautwein, residents at the Western Senior Citizens Home, expressed their satisfaction.

“We are pleased with the new renovations. The rooms seem to be bigger and we like the new dining area that is smaller with fewer people. It allows for good conversation and a feeling of closeness,” they shared.

“The ten residents to move back into our first completed wing were very happy to see their new space and were excited with their new kitchen and dining areas,” commented Brenda Schwan, Vice President Continuing Care and Capital Project Lead.  “Residents have found the new look to be fresh and the atmosphere very welcoming.”

Renovation work has now shifted to the west wing and nursing station area. Each wing takes approximately 10-12 weeks for renovations to be completed.

Meanwhile the $12 million capital construction attached to the Western Senior Citizens Home continues to progress. Recent activity has included the installation of roof cap sheeting to create a water tight surface, ongoing ductwork, electrical, and plumbing services including mechanical systems, and the final enclosures of the building including exterior door installations.  The majority of internal wall studding has been completed and gypsum boarding (drywall) is scheduled to begin next week.  External cladding is also being installed.

When the expansion project and renovation work is completed the facility will be renamed, as decided by community members, the Leader and District Integrated Healthcare Facility.  It will be the sole location of all of the community’s health services bringing together acute care, emergency medical services, community health services, primary health care, and long-term care.  The facility’s design incorporates input from staff, physicians, patients, and family representatives.

A construction camera remains in place to document progress and captures a new birds-eye image of the site every 15 minutes.

Western Senior Citizens Home after renovations completed
Western Senior Citizens Home before renovations completed
The new dining and kitchen area promotes a small-house model of care delivery
Interior photo of the capital construction project, showing completed steel stud work
Featured, News Release

Construction to Begin on New Integrated Health Care Facility in Leader, SK

Construction on the new Leader Integrated Health Care Facility will begin in December, following the awarding of the construction tender to Wright Construction Western Inc. today.

“The Leader area has been a great partner in working to get this project to fruition,” Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit said.  “Our government is committed to this important facility, which will improve patient access, enhance patient experience and ensure high-quality health care services for the people of the community.”

The capital project has experienced some delays, with the initial call for tenders cancelled in January 2016 due to significantly higher construction costs than originally anticipated.  The project’s second call for tenders was initiated this fall.

“The delay in the tendering process was unfortunate, but it resulted in additional planning and design work that has provided options to bring construction costs down to meet the available budget for the project,” Cypress Health Region CEO Beth Vachon said.  “The re-design process continued to involve patients, staff and stakeholders to ensure the new facility will integrate all of Leader’s health care services into one comprehensive facility that meets the needs of the community.  We are very excited for residents of Leader and surrounding area.”

The $12 million capital project will expand the existing Western Senior Citizens Home long-term care facility to include acute care, community health services, primary health care and ambulance services.

The provincial government is contributing $9.6 million toward the project, which represents 80 per cent of total project costs.  Local funding will cover the remaining 20 per cent.

Construction on the new integrated health care facility is expected to begin in December, with an anticipated completion date in early 2018.

(Saskatchewan Ministry of Health News release – link: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2016/november/03/leader-health-facility)
Featured, News Release

Planning Continues for Leader Capital Project

The Cypress Health Region is continuing planning and design work on the previously announced capital construction project in Leader. The project remains a top priority of the Cypress Health Region.

“We have experienced some unfortunate delays due to construction costs that came in higher than expected, however we want to reaffirm our commitment to this important project,” commented Brenda Schwan, Vice President – Continuing Care and Capital Project Lead for Cypress Health. “We are working very hard to ensure that this project can be delivered within the available capital budget and are looking forward to integrating all of Leader’s health services into a comprehensive facility.”

Since an announcement in January that the initial call for tenders was cancelled due to higher than anticipated construction costs, health region staff have been working collaboratively with project partners and stakeholders to create a revised design. This work includes extensive consultations with the project’s architectural partner, aodbt architecture + interior design, to identify potential revisions that will reduce the overall cost while not affecting the provision of health programs and services.

“The design revisions that are being completed still incorporate the valuable feedback that we received from staff, physicians, community members, municipal stakeholders, patient representatives, and others. The revisions have also factored in how construction can be completed in a more cost effective way. We are confident that we can finalize a revised design that fits within the project’s budget,” added Schwan.

The health region is currently working to complete a new submission to the Ministry of Health that includes drawings, specifications, and updated budget figures. Following that the finalized drawings will be submitted to allow for a new tender to be issued. It is anticipated that the updated design could be ready for tendering in the coming months.

The Leader capital project includes the addition of acute care, emergency medical services, and a universal care unit to the existing Western Senior Citizens Home. The $12 million project will result in a continuum of health services within one integrated facility.

To read more information on the project please visit the Building Excellence in Rural Health – Leader webpage.

Featured, News Release

Tender to be Re-Issued for Leader Capital Project

Following extensive efforts and multiple reviews of submitted construction tenders for the integration of health care facilities in Leader, the Cypress Health Region has cancelled the initial ‘call for construction tenders’ process.  The inability to award the construction tender at this time was directly due to the proposed tender submissions being substantially higher than the budgeted capital construction amount approved by the provincial Ministry of Health and Cypress Health Region.

The health region is continuing to work with local staff, the Ministry of Health and the project’s architectural partner, AODBT Architecture, to revise the overall design of the project and prepare documents for a second ‘call for construction tenders’.  The revised design will attempt to incorporate the required changes that will meet the overall approved budgeted capital construction amount.

“We are very disappointed that the construction tender award cannot be completed at this time,” commented Brenda Schwan, Vice President of Continuing Care and Capital Project Lead for the health region.  “Following the receipt of the initial tenders and subsequent efforts to find some efficiencies, it became clear that the bidding companies’ proposals would not meet the available budget.”

Extensive planning and design work has been completed on the proposed amalgamation of all health services under one roof.  Staff and physicians, patient and family representatives, community members, municipal stakeholders, and the project’s architectural consultants have provided their input and feedback into the new integrated facility design.

Schwan added that the previous work will continue to be utilized in the re-design of the integrated facility project and that the working groups will be involved in the next steps.  “We have identified several potential revisions to the current design that will not affect the provision of health programs and services, but will reduce the overall construction costs,” added Schwan.  “Our working groups will develop a new design that will meet the capital construction budget for the project, and we look forward to the distribution of another call for tenders in the near future.”

The health region would like to emphasize that the facility integration project for Leader remains a top priority.  They would like to express their gratitude to the municipal councils for their financial commitment to the project, to the variety of fundraising efforts being undertaken for future equipment and furnishings needs, and to the staff and working groups for their planning efforts.

The proposed capital project includes the addition of acute care, emergency medical services and universal care unit, along with renovations to the existing Western Senior Citizens Home to accommodate the integration of health services.  The project will result in a continuum of health services being located under one roof at the current location of the Western Senior Citizens Home.

As more updates are available in relation to the progress and status of the construction tender process, they will be passed along to the staff and public.

Featured, News Release

Leader Health Care Facility Integration Process Delayed

Planning and design work for the integration of health care facilities in the community of Leader have been ongoing for many months. Discussions and design efforts have included representatives from the Leader health services staff, patient and/or family individuals, members of the architectural team, community stakeholders, and the Cypress Health Region.

A call for construction tenders was recently distributed and there was significant interest expressed from a variety of bidding companies. However, when the tender proposals were opened, it was discovered that the lowest tender was substantially higher than the budgeted capital construction amount approved by the provincial Ministry of Health.

Since the initial review of the tender documents, the Cypress Health Region has had discussions with the Ministry of Health and the project’s architectural partner, AODBT Architecture, to identify the next steps in the process. It was determined that a further detailed review of the submitted tenders will be undertaken in an attempt to identify any efficiencies.

As a result of this delay in the construction tender award process, the scheduled official sod turning event on November 13th has been postponed until further notice. It will be rescheduled in the future.

“Along with the staff, municipal partners, and community we are very disappointed with the results of the call for tenders,” said Brenda Schwan, Cypress Health’s Vice President of Human Resources and Capital Projects. “However, we want to emphasize that the project has not been cancelled and this is merely a bump in the road towards the start of construction on our health facility integration capital project.”

Schwan added that the health region will continue to work with its project partners and the Leader project planning committee members to move the project forward towards the start of construction. “Together with the Ministry of Health, we remain committed and want to see this capital project move forward so that the overall patient care experience can be enhanced with health services all under one roof.”

The proposed capital project included the addition of acute care, ambulance/emergency medical services and universal care unit, along with renovations to the existing Western Senior Citizens Home to accommodate the integration of health services. It was anticipated that construction would begin in November 2015 and that the project would be complete in the summer of 2017. The project will result in a continuum of health services being located under one roof at the current location of the Western Senior Citizens Home.

As more updates are available in relation to the progress and status of the construction tender process, they will be passed along to the staff and public.

Featured, News Release

Leader Project Moves to Call for Construction Tenders Phase

With the start of construction for the integration of health facilities in the community of Leader just around the corner, the Cypress Health Region has received Ministry of Health approval to release the tender documents for the construction/renovation for the new integrated facility. The call for tenders was released on September 15th and will conclude on October 15th.

The ‘call for tenders’ process will allow potential General Contractors to finalize their construction proposal in relation to overall project cost, timelines for completion, strategies for attaining the objectives of the integrated facility’s model of care, and other relevant construction issues. The contractors will be expected to have a strong collaborative partnership with Cypress Health and the Ministry of Health during the construction process.

“We are very appreciative of the community and staff’s continuing excitement for the start of construction,” stated Brenda Schwan, Vice President of Human Resources and Capital Projects for the Cypress Health Region. “This call for construction tenders is one of the last major steps prior to the start of construction and we are looking forward to finalizing the General Contractor who will be a vital partner of our project team during the next two years.”

The bids will be publicly opened on October 16th. They will be reviewed and evaluated by the Project Team, which will be followed by an approximate 1-2 week timeline for the Ministry of Health and Cypress Health Region to approve and award the contract. Discussions with the successful General Contractor regarding the initiation of the next steps will begin immediately after the award is completed. It is anticipated that on-site construction will begin in early November 2015.

The construction project will consist of an addition to the existing Western Senior Citizens Home and related renovations to the existing building to accommodate the addition. Features of the project will include:

  • 11 universal care unit treatment rooms – physicians, nurse practitioner, public health, community and mental health, home care, and visiting professional services will be located in this area. The programming for this area is based on a new model of care which encourages deeper collaboration between health providers and reduces the amount of locations one has to travel to in order to receive a continuum of health services.
  • Therapies suite
  • 5 acute care inpatient rooms
  • 1 isolation acute care room – will serve as a new service not currently available at the Leader Hospital
  • 1 trauma/emergency bed
  • Laboratory and x-ray service
  • 1 family overnight suite
  • A new 12-bed long term care wing will be constructed to replace an existing Western Seniors Citizens Home wing, which will be renovated to provide other services in the integrated facility. During the period that the new long term care wing will be built, affected residents will be temporarily relocated into a dedicated area of the Leader Hospital.

Schwan added that the staff, patient family representatives, and community members have been very busy over the past several months in finalizing the facility design and construction parameters. “Their dedication to designing the little extras will go a long way to ensuring that the care offered in the facility will be as effective as possible,” stated Schwan. “The input of the staff and others has been tremendous and well
received.”

Construction is anticipated to be complete by summer 2017.

News Release

Equipment Starts to Move Into the new Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility

The Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility (SIHF) in Maple Creek is welcoming some of the puzzle pieces that it will need prior to opening its doors to the public.  Equipment and furnishings are beginning to be relocated into the areas of the facility that have been completed, while active construction is nearing the finish line on the remainder of the building.

However, even with the additional activity around the new facility’s site, the Cypress Health Region wants to remind the public to continue accessing emergency outpatient, laboratory/x-ray, and primary health care clinic services at their temporary downtown locations until further notice.  Public notice will be provided when the new facility is open for business which is anticipated to occur in late May or early June.

SIHF TVs in Storage
Technology being brought into the new Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility.

Over the past number of months, the downtown maintenance building for the Town of Maple Creek has been the storage home for the furnishings and equipment that have been purchased for the new facility.  Members of the maintenance staff have now  started to transfer some of these items into the areas included in Zone 1 of the SIHF blueprint, including the universal care unit, one half of acute care, medical imaging, mechanical, and electrical areas.

The areas in Zone 1 were handed over to the Cypress Health Region in late February for the transfer of equipment.  During the first week of access, many items were moved and support/patient areas set up which included patient examination tables, stretcher beds, podiatrist chairs, biomedical and household fridges, night stands, materials management warehouse and maintenance shop set up, and the first shipment of information technology equipment.

“Our first week of having access to the building was very productive,” said Trent Regier, Director of Long Term Care & Integrated Health Services for the Cypress Health Region.  “Our staff will continue to transfer the many pieces of equipment, furnishings, and supplies into the universal care and acute areas so that they will be ready for staff orientation and final infection control processes prior to opening.  Once the move into Zone 1 is complete, we will be ready to continue these processes in the remainder of the building.”

Construction crews are making great progress on Zone 2 of the building which includes all of the long term care area, remainder of acute care, nutrition, and general support areas.  Current processes include painting, flooring and ceiling installation, electrical and mechanical work, and installation of kitchen equipment.

Zone 2 is scheduled to be completed by the contractors in mid-April and available for the region to begin the equipment/furnishings transfer into these areas.  Following this, staff orientation and training to the facility and its systems will begin.

Regier is optimistic that if the construction and other processes continue as per the current schedule, substantial completion of the building is anticipated to occur in mid-April.  “We are estimating a 4-6 week of time between substantial completion and being ready to open the building to provide services to the public,” added Regier.  “This timeline will allow for staff training and orientation along with the required enhanced cleaning ensuring that the facility is ready for our long term care residents and patients.”

Discussions are continuing to occur with the Southwest Health Trust Board to finalize the details for the donor wall signage installation.  In addition, the SIHF Art Foundation will be touring Zone 1 to finalize installations of artwork they have been collecting, and the Cowgirl Cattle Company are preparing for the furnishing of the bunkhouses where patients’ families will be given the opportunity to use during the day or stay overnight.

Having served the community and surrounding areas for over 50 years, the Maple Creek Hospital building will be demolished.  Dakota Reclamators were awarded the demolition contract and will begin their processes later this week.  The local Salvation Army and Museum have taken the opportunity to access some of the building’s equipment, fixtures and furnishings, while other items have been redeployed within the region’s facilities.  The demolition is scheduled to be complete by the end of April.

News Release

Progress Made on Design of New Integrated Facility in Leader

Following a successful week-long planning event in January that saw Leader health services staff and patient/family representatives explore options for the design of the community’s new integrated health facility, significant progress is being made to move the project planning through its early phases.

The creative 3P (Production, Preparation, Process) planning event held in January established basic adjacencies between departments and services, where the input of health services staff was essential in determining the best interior blueprint to maximize the patient flows and their health care experience. The overall design option selected included the addition of a third long term care wing which will be constructed between the existing north and west wings.

Following up on the efforts of the 3P team, the ‘schematic design’ phase began in early February. Members of the health services and design team travelled to Maple Creek to tour the acute care and universal care unit areas of the soon-to-be-open Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility (SIHF).

“Seizing the opportunity for the staff to tour and review the layout of the Maple Creek facility was very timely in our design planning for Leader,” said Brenda Schwan, Vice President of Human Resources and Capital Project Lead. “They had a chance to see how the patients would flow through the programs and departments, and use that real-life-size information to make adjustments to the Leader design. This is another example of how we can use another community’s success to better the future programming in a separate community.”

Further discussions with the architects led to the final schematic design meeting on March 2. Following this, the interior adjacencies for wall placements, location of each desired space and room, and the coordination of all spaces were confirmed. The ‘design development’ phase is expected to begin on March 17, where the architect will expand upon the schematic design processes to develop more detailed drawings illustrating other aspects of the proposed design.

A variety of tenders have been awarded to the capital project partners that will be actively engaged in the design and construction planning process. In addition to aodbt architecture and interior design who was awarded the architectural services contract, Altus Geomatics (site survey), P. Machibroda Engineering (geotechnical services), and Golder Associates (hazardous materials) were the successful tenders for their respective Request for Proposals (RFP). The project’s general construction contractor RFP is expected to be released in summer 2015.

Construction on the new integrated facility is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2015 and it is expected to open its doors in the fall of 2016. The approved capital project will see a physical addition built onto the Western Senior Citizen’s Home which will see acute care, long term care, primary health care clinic, community health services, home care, and ambulance services included under one roof.

News Release

Leader Staff Contribute to Design of New Facility

A large team of approximately twenty-five individuals worked together during the week of January 5-9 to continue planning design options for the new integrated health facility in Leader. The team included members of the Leader health services staff, patient/family representatives, primary health care clinic team members, aodbt architecture representatives, community members, and others. Members of Cypress Health Region’s Kaizen Promotion Office coordinated the event and activities for the week.

The 3P Event (Production, Preparation, Process) utilized the principles of Lean to continue developing the blueprint for the new integrated facility. One of the major objectives for the week was to ensure that the facility’s design will maximize the patient flows and make additional improvements to make the patient experience even more valuable to them.

During the week, participants were kept busy with a variety of tasks which included group work, specific team work, and individual creative thinking. The five days were scheduled to review the various flows of patients, health providers, equipment, information, supplies, and medications; identify the various wastes and inefficiencies within the current flows that could be reviewed to offer a better care experience for patients in the new facility; review and select an external footprint for the new addition’s attachment to the existing long term care facility; create over 150 design options for the internal look of the addition, which were eventually voted down to one design for further 3D model development; create and build table top and full-sized mock ups of what an acute inpatient and universal care unit room will look like; and provide a report out which summarized the week’s activities.

Sherry Miller serves as the Health Services Manager for Leader and she helps to coordinate the programs and services offered in the four current Cypress Health buildings. She was one of the participants involved in the week and will play an important role in the future planning and transition to the new integrated facility.

“It has been amazing to watch the progression of the 3P team from the start to the end of the week, and the results that we have achieved,” commented Miller. “With the amount of background information and data that was provided, the team used their expertise and past experiences with patient care to develop an exciting design option that will take full advantage of our programs and services being under one roof. The results from this week are another example of what can be achieved when a team is moving in the same direction, with a specific target to be achieved.”

“We were very impressed with the creative and innovative efforts of the 3P team this week,” said Brenda Schwan, Executive Director of Human Resources and Capital Lead for Cypress Health. “The level of detail in the design options that were put forward allowed the team members to look at the best elements from many options, and put them together into a final option that will provide a positive care experience for our patients. All of the detailed thoughts and feedback that the staff were able to provide will prove to be extremely beneficial for our architectural design team as they move towards creating a final design for the new build.”

There will be an opportunity for staff and the general public to examine the work that the 3P event team completed and get an advance look at some of the conceptual design work that was accomplished. An ‘Open House’ event will be held on January 12 and 13 at the Little Flower Parish Hall in Leader (10 am – 4 pm, 6 – 8 pm; each day) where visitors can increase their awareness of what the new integrated facility is going to look like and what services/programs will be included within it. Visitors can walk through the life-sized mock ups of an acute inpatient room and universal care unit room. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Construction on the new integrated facility is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2015 and it is expected to open its doors in the fall of 2016. The approved capital project will see a physical addition built onto the Western Senior Citizen’s Home which will include acute care, primary health care clinic, community health services, home care, and ambulance services.

News Release

Architect Selected for Leader Capital Project

The Cypress Health Region has selected aodbt architecture + interior design of Saskatoon to provide architectural consulting and design services for the new integrated healthcare facility in Leader. aodbt was chosen from among many applicants to join the project planning team.

Architectural design firms are an essential component of the project planning team. They will actively participate with the staff, patient family representatives, community members, and the Cypress Health Region throughout the design and construction phases of the capital project.

The capital project will include an addition to the existing Western Senior Citizens Home and renovations to the Home to accommodate the addition. Construction of spaces for acute care, community health, primary health care clinic, and emergency medical services will be included in the project. As the project architect, aodbt will be requested to design and integrate the new building’s structural, mechanical, and electrical systems to accommodate changing internal space as required. As well, the design of the building is expected to truly integrate the staff and programs/services under one roof.

Brenda Schwan, Cypress Health’s Executive Director of Human Resources and Capital Project Lead, is pleased that the project will now be further continuing into the design phase. “Cypress Health has worked with aodbt on other capital projects in the past and we have built a strong working relationship,” said Schwan. “This integrated building project will require innovative design to reflect the collective needs for all of the services that will be provided under one roof.”

“The aodbt team and our engineering group are very excited to be working with the Cypress Health Region again,” commented Charles Olfert, Principal Architect with aodbt architecture + interior design. “We have recently planned quite a number of integrated health facilities, so we know that each site is special and presents unique challenges and opportunities. We have already started developing some ideas and are looking forward to applying Lean planning processes to move this project forward very quickly in 2015.”

With the architectural services contract now awarded to aodbt, the planning and design phases will begin to pick up speed. A Lean 3P (Production, Preparation, Processing) event is being held in early January which will utilize the information collected in a functional planning exercise in 2011 and a recent ‘value stream mapping’ exercise which followed patients at the Leader Hospital and Primary Health Care Clinic.

Following the 3P event, the design team will move into the ‘schematic design’ phase which will then lead into the development of the final design for the integrated facility. During these phases, there will be many consultations held with staff, medical team members, patients, family members, and the general public to ensure that their feedback becomes a vital component of the planning.

It is anticipated that construction document preparation will begin in May 2015 and a tender for general contractor services will be distributed in August 2015.

The Cypress Health Region will join the community and surrounding areas in looking forward to the expected start of construction in September 2015. “This capital project is another prime example of the regional and provincial emphasis on providing innovative health care close to home,” added Schwan. “This project is the result of a tremendous partnership with the community and municipal councils, and we can’t wait for the next steps towards construction.”