February 23, 2005

Illustration courtesy CRITCHLEY DELEAN TRUSSLER EVANS BERTRAND ARCHITECTS

The new Northeast Mental Health Centre in North Bay is seen in the forefront of this image.

Tenders to be called shortly

$218M health centre in North Bay breaks new ground in patient care

By Patricia Williams

staff writer

The North Bay General Hospital and the Northeast Mental Health Centre expect to call tenders shortly for construction of their joint $218.6-million North Bay Regional Health Centre.

The project will be comprised of a three-storey general hospital and a two-storey mental health centre. The facilities will be located side-by-side. A number of support services and resources will be shared.

Scheduled to open in 2008, the centre will be constructed on a greenfield site next to Nipissing University and Canadore College.

Roads and parking lots have been roughed in and site preparations completed.

The project team is working to achieve certification under the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED™) green building rating system. It also is reviewing the viability of a gas-fired, co-generation plant as part of the project.

Prime consultants are Critchley Delean Trussler Evans Bertrand Architects of North Bay with Toronto architect Henry Lowry.

Subconsultants include: structural engineers Halsall Associates of Toronto in association with Anrep Krieg Desilets Gravelle of North Bay; mechanical-electrical engineers H.H. Angus & Associates of Toronto in association with Piotrowski Consultants Ltd. of North Bay; and interior design consultants HOK Canada of Toronto.

Project management services are being provided by ZW Group Inc. of Ottawa in alliance with J.L. Richards & Associates Ltd. of North Bay.

The hospital will be located on the east side of the property. The main inpatient pods are positioned on the building’s south side to maximize penetration of sunlight into patient rooms.

A central “main street” joins the inpatient pods to the main outpatient and support services building.

The emergency department entrance is located in the northeast corner, with its own walk-in entrance and a separate ambulance entrance.

A helicopter pad will be situated in the southeast corner of the site for efficient patient transfers to the emergency department.

The hospital said the design features a commitment to delivering “soothing and compassionate” care.

Key features include:

• An increased percentage of single rooms and more spacious double rooms, designed to give each patient a window view and a connection to nature.

• Inpatient rooms large enough to accommodate family caregivers and, in some cases, to allow for overnight stays.

• Advanced communication technology for patient response, including a nurse call system based on silent pagers and cellular phones.

• A decentralized food service, with a servery on each floor that will allow patients to select their meals shortly before meal times.

• Large indoor plants and trees, to create a year-round connection with nature.

To the west side of the property is the mental health centre. Inpatient units, referred to as lodges, are interconnected by a corridor system that creates secure inner courtyards and a village-like environment.

At the heart of the village is a two-storey amenity and therapeutic support building, which will house a client services mall, gymnasium, workshops, psychiatric offices, clinical space and administrative functions.

All lodges are proposed to be at grade level for ease of access to the outdoors.

Forensic lodges and facilities will be located at the west end of the complex, next to the specialized, longer-term mental health lodges.

The hospital said research shows that a comfortable healing environment is not only preferred by patients, but also leads to better clinical outcomes and reduces overall operational costs.

Mark Hurst, president and chief executive officer of the North Bay General Hospital, said co-location of the facilities “just makes sense economically.”

“Cost saving will occur during the construction phase as building the two facilities together will result in economies of scale in construction.

“During its operational phase, the centre will realize continued savings.”

The project is said to be the first in Canada where a district, acute-care general hospital is co-located with a regional, specialized mental health centre.

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