Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) officials are moving forward on replacing the Olive Devaud Residence. The $24-million project will provide 102 complex care beds in a facility that will be constructed on land adjacent to Powell River General Hospital.
Powell River Regional Hospital District (PRRHD) and VCH signed a memorandum of understanding on March 24, 2011. PRRHD is providing 100 per cent of the capital to build the facility, as well as owning the land. VCH will lease the building for 20 years through an operating lease. The VCH lease payments will equal 50 per cent of project costs.
PRRHD is financing the project through the Municipal Finance Authority. VCH is managing the project from concept through construction and commissioning. It will be accountable to a project board, made up by representatives from VCH, PRRHD and the ministry of health services. The board will be responsible for key decisions throughout the design, tendering and construction phases.
VCH officials provided an update to regional district representatives on June 9. Larry Harder, director of capital projects for VCH, gave an overview of capital planning, including the new facility. “Congratulations on all the hard work that you guys have been doing,” he said. “We’re really looking forward to getting this one underway.”
After the announcement was made on May 9, Harder said, VCH started putting together its plan. Currently, he continued, it is in the process of hiring a quantity surveyor, who will provide advice on the best way to procure the project, the style of tendering and whether it will be a regular design-build. A quantity surveyor is a specialist who works in the construction field who does cost estimates, he explained. “They also have some insight on regional aspects of construction,” he added.
As well, VCH is preparing RFPs (request for proposals) for consultants, Harder said. Over the summer, VCH will be putting its team in place and starting design.
The project manager is Don Jenion, who was unable to attend the meeting, but participated over the phone. VCH expects the facility will be open by August 2013, 11 months later than the original estimated opening date of September 2012.
Harder also provided information on planned renovations to Olive Devaud Residence. “In light of the new project, we’re still obligated to do some work on the existing facility, because it’s going to be two years before we can move out of there,” he said.
VCH has allocated $514,000 from its minor capital improvement program for the work, which Harder said is essentially code and safety related. “Anything that was a longer term commitment, like a patient-monitoring system, we’re hoping that we can purchase something that can be moved to the new building,” he said.
The renovations are being designed and are 85 per cent complete. The work includes providing access to 24 patient washrooms, upgrading ground sloping on the west side fire exit, replacing flooring in the shower room and improving access to the dining room.
Designs are expected to be complete by the end of June and the tender package on the open market by the middle of July.
Johan Marais, regional director of VCH capital planning, gave an overview of the regional capital planning process.
Sandra Swanson, director of biomedical engineering, reported that VCH bought a number of beds and smart pumps for Powell River facilities through year-end funding. VCH provided 27 beds for Powell River General Hospital, 44 for Evergreen Extended Care and 62 for Olive Devaud Residence. The beds and pumps cost about $1.4 million.
