The top two floors of Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s Polson tower are a step closer to completion following the selection of the design builder.
Stuart Olson Dominion Construction, with Parkin Architects, has been selected as the preferred design builder. The contract is for the final design and construction of two 30-bed inpatient units in the shelled-in space on the sixth and seventh floors of the tower.
“With completion of these new inpatient units, VJH will be well positioned to meet future demand for acute care in Vernon and the surrounding region,” said Norm Embree, Interior Health Authority chairperson.
Construction is expected to start once initial planning meetings have occurred, and the work should be completed by the fall of 2015.
Of the 60 beds planned for the units, 14 will be new and the remaining 46 will be relocated from elsewhere in the hospital.
The project cost of $29.6 million is being shared between the provincial government, the North Okanagan-Columbia-Shuswap Regional Hospital District and the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation.
The majority of the 60 beds will be in private rooms complete with their own washrooms.
Units will be furnished with modern equipment through the Vernon Hospital Foundation’s Tower of Care campaign.
