Tag Archives: Leader Expansion

Featured, News Release

Leader and District Integrated Healthcare Facility Update

Advancements continue on construction project in Leader

The capital expansion project in Leader is reaching new milestones within the construction process and continues to be on track to open in summer 2018.

Construction activity in initial areas is as much as 80% complete, including framing and roof trusses in the acute care wing. Other notable progress is 30% completion of roof sheeting and the beginning of window installation. Work is ongoing in the areas of drywall and cement board, mechanical and electrical, Styrofoam insulation in exterior walls, Blueskin composite membrane around window and door openings, and walls and trusses for the ambulance bay. Delivery of wall and roof cladding is scheduled for the near future.

“When one looks back over the past four months, construction has taken us from an empty shell with only cement pilings visible to the near completed exterior shell and mezzanine that we see today,” noted Brenda Schwan, Capital Lead and Vice President of Continuing Care for the Cypress Health Region. “The exterior shape of the facility is now distinctly visible and we are all excited to see the project move through the various construction phases towards eventual completion.”

A construction camera remains in place to document progress and captures a new birds-eye image of the site every 15 minutes. The high resolution images may be viewed at any time on the Cypress Health Region website at www.cypresshealth.ca.

Renovation work is continuing on the interior of the existing Western Senior Citizens Home. The renovations include safety improvements such as the installation of ceiling lifts, a new handheld nurse call system, and improved hand rails. A new electronic charting system is being installed that will further improve resident safety and staff communication. Aesthetic improvements will add new LED lighting, paint, curtains, and flooring. It is anticipated that the first of three wings to be renovated will be completed and ready for occupancy as early as the end of October.

The renovations will transform the existing long term care facility into three 10-bed homes. The new model, known as the small house model, focuses care on resident choice and aims to reduce known challenges with more traditional models of care such as loneliness and boredom.
In anticipation of the small house model being introduced, variable breakfasts have been implemented for residents who are temporarily occupying a wing at the Leader Hospital during renovations. Variable breakfasts allow residents to begin their day when they wish to. Continuing Care Aide staff are preparing and serving breakfast to residents when they choose to wake up. The care team is also actively working on preparations for a new electronic health record system that will be introduced in the facility when the first 10-bed home is complete.

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. The facility will be the sole location of all of the community’s health services. The integration of services will bring together acute care, emergency medical services, community health services, primary health care, and long term care via the existing Western Senior Citizens Home. The facility’s design incorporates input from staff, physicians, patients, and family representatives.

Progress from April to August 2017

April 2017
May 2017

 

 

 

 

 

June 2017
July 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 2017
Featured, News Release

Leader and District Integrated Healthcare Facility

Community vote leads to new name for capital project in Leader

The Leader and District Integrated Healthcare Facility is the name of the new integrated facility being constructed in Leader. The Cypress Regional Health Authority (CRHA) passed a motion at its May 31 meeting to officially accept the community’s recommendation for the new name.

An opportunity to collect community feedback to help decide the name was recently led by the Leader Trust Advisory Committee. Community members were encouraged to complete an online survey or submit a paper vote and indicate their preference from a list of two possible names – the Leader and District Integrated Healthcare Facility or the SaskRiver Integrated Healthcare Facility. The results indicated overwhelming support for the Leader and District Integrated Healthcare Facility option.

“This facility will serve a large geographical area in Leader and surrounding communities and there was no better way to decide the permanent name for the completed facility than by asking those who will use it each and every day,” commented Tim Geiger, Chair of the Leader Trust Advisory Committee. “We received many votes through the online and paper options and it was very obvious that the community wanted to include Leader and District in the name of the facility. We thank the Cypress Regional Health Authority Board for accepting the recommended name and we look forward to the completion of the Leader and District Integrated Healthcare Facility.”

The $12 million capital project is being constructed adjacent to the existing Western Senior Citizens Home and includes the attachment of acute care, community health services, primary health care, and ambulance services. When complete, the two facilities will be connected to form an integrated facility that will house all of the community’s health services.

A construction camera has been installed on-site and is documenting progress. A new photo is captured every 15 minutes and viewers can scroll back in time to look at previously captured images. The construction camera is available any time of day on the Cypress Health Region website at www.cypresshealth.ca.

 

Featured, News Release

Construction Underway in Leader

Capital Project to Expand Western Senior Citizens Home Underway

The construction site adjacent to the Western Senior Citizens Home in Leader, SK is now a hub of activity as construction crews have mobilized and started to create a strong foundation for the $12 million expansion project.

Contractors and sub-contractors of Wright Construction Western have fenced off the construction area and welcomed the first trade, the pilings contractor, on site January 31.  Pilings are deep cylindrical holes dug into the ground that are then filled with strong materials, such as concrete, to provide a strong foundation for a structure to be built on top of them.  Piling work has been taking place throughout February and is anticipated to be completed by the end of month (depending on frost depths).  After the completion of pilings, construction of grade beams will closely follow with grade beam materials now beginning to arriving on-site.

“It is obviously very exciting to see crews on site beginning to construct this much needed project that will bring all of the community’s health services under one roof,” noted Brenda Schwan, Capital Lead and Vice President of Continuing Care for Cypress Health.  “This project has been a priority for our Region and the entire community for the past several years.  Seeing it now progress to the beginning stages of construction is a very satisfying achievement for everyone involved.”

Originally announced in September, 2014, the project will result in all health services available in the Town of Leader being offered in a single, integrated facility.  Currently health services are divided between the existing Western Senior Citizens Home, the Leader Hospital, the Leader Primary Health Care site, and a separate ambulance garage. The expansion will include universal care treatments rooms, a therapies suite, acute care inpatient rooms, one isolation room offering a new service to the community that is not currently available, one trauma/emergency room, lab/x-ray service centre, and EMS.

Planning and design work for the expansion has been completed with collaborative input from project partners including aodbt architecture, Leader health services staff, physicians, patient and family representatives, primary health care clinic team members, community members, and others.  A series of quality improvement tools have been used in the design’s development including a Value Stream Mapping event held in December 2014 and a 3P (Production, Preparation, Process) event held in January, 2015.  Combined with earlier development work, these have led to an inclusive design that will meet the needs of all users.

“In our planning stages we looked at things like flows of patients moving throughout the facility, walking distances for staff, and how best to maximize the new spaces so that rooms and supplies are in the locations that make the most sense,” added Schwan.  “In the end we have a design that we are very confident will meet the needs of the community for many years to come and we look forward to continuing to watch as the facility is built.”

The project is funded through the traditional 80/20 split funding formula with the provincial government contributing $9.6 million towards the project with the remaining $2.4 million raised by local municipalities.  The Region extends its appreciation to the government and the many municipalities who have contributed their share while also providing funding for necessary equipment and furnishing costs.

The anticipated construction completion date of the project is in the summer of 2018.

An on-site construction camera has been ordered and will be installed in the very near future.  The camera will be located at the construction site, capturing and archiving images of the expansion project as it is erected. Once installed the camera will be posted on the Health Region’s website and will be available for viewing 24 hours per day.

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

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

Leader Facility Expansion Continues to Move Forward

The Cypress Health Region is continuing its planning efforts for the recently announced expansion to the existing Western Senior Citizens Home in Leader, SK.

A patient-centred Lean 3P (production, preparation, process) is beginning in early December. The event will chart current patient flows and processes in a variety of areas. It includes mapping the patient experience in primary health care, lab/x-ray, therapies, and emergency outpatient visits. Staff, patient-family representatives, and others will be involved in this ‘current state’ process. In early January the team will then reconvene to create desired ‘future state’ processes that the $12 million expansion can be modeled from.

“Several years ago we began 3P work in Leader to look at improved ways of delivering services to patients. Now that we know a new facility is coming to the community, we will build off of this initial work to ensure the patient experience is as smooth and efficient as possible,” commented Brenda Schwan, Executive Director of Human Resources, who is the capital project lead.

In addition to Lean 3P work being completed, the projects Request for Proposals (RFP) period concluded on November 19. Qualified architectural design firms were invited to bid on the job of leading the consulting/design services. Several submissions were received, indicating a strong desire for firms to be involved in the exciting project.

The health region has established a review committee who will short list the submitted RFPs and conduct interviews. It is anticipated that the RFP will be awarded by the end of the first week of December which will be followed by an announcement on the successful bid.

“We are very satisfied with the quantity and quality of RFP bids that were submitted and are looking forward to creating the short list. Our review committee will thoroughly evaluate each submission to determine the winning bid,” added Schwan.

The Leader capital project will renovate and expand the existing long-term care facility and includes the attachment of acute care, community health services, primary health care, and ambulance services. For more information on the Leader capital project please visit the Building Excellence in Rural Health page.