Interior Health
KAMLOOPS – With approximately one year to go before the opening of the Clinical Services Building at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, planning will soon be underway for a new patient care tower, the next phase of redevelopment.
“This is an exciting time for families in the Kamloops region. Not only are we getting closer to opening the Clinical Services Building, but we are working toward a business plan for the new patient care tower, which is part of the hospital’s redevelopment,” said Health Minister Terry Lake. “Residents have been telling us how important expanded and enhanced space at the hospital is to them, and we listened.”
In 2011, a master site plan for Royal Inland Hospital was completed. The plan identified surgical services, walk-in care, inpatient areas, support programs, parking, the patient care tower and other internal renovations as priorities. Some of these priorities, such as site access and parking, are being addressed through the Clinical Services Building project.
“Redevelopment at Royal Inland Hospital is among Interior Health’s top priorities,” said Erwin Malzer, Interior Health board chair. “Were about to embark on the next phase of redevelopment with a new patient care tower, which will bring an exciting new chapter to health care in the Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap region.”
Malzer also recognized the significant work that has been undertaken for the Clinical Services Building, a $79.8-million investment funded by the provincial government and the Thompson Regional Hospital District.
The Clinical Services Building will offer a variety of outpatient services, such as laboratory, community respiratory therapy, pre-surgical screening, cardiology, neuro-diagnostics, IV therapy and the vascular improvement program. A new four-storey parkade will make access to those services and others within RIH easier. The new building will also incorporate expanded clinical education space for the University of British Columbia faculty of medicine’s medical programs, representing an important investment in future recruitment and retention of physicians to the area.
