The front of Langley Memorial Hospital is a mass of construction workers and equipment right now, as work on both a new emergency room and an MRI clinic are underway.
But there’s a plan for all of this, according to Jason Cook, executive director of LMH and Langley Health Services.
The hospital is keeping at least two of its three main entrances open during construction, though it will have to switch them around depending on what is being built, Cook said.
The current “main entrance” is south of the old main entrance, as the old entrance is trapped behind construction.
Speaking Thursday, July 18, Cook said he hoped that concrete would be poured soon for the foundation of the new ER.
Light poles were also being set up on the new road leading to LMH.
Then once the concrete is down, the steel starts arriving, and a frame will begin going up.
Following the completion of the foundation, the entrance will shift back to the old doors again around mid-August – while the current entrance is shut down so the new MRI facility can start construction.
Meanwhile, after the recent announcement by Premier John Horgan and health minister Adrian Dix that construction would start on the MRI, an extension to the front of the hospital will be needed – and that will likely block off a different entrance.
“At all times two out of the three entrances will be open,” said Cook.
Visitors should likely keep an eye on the signs around the hospital when they arrive.
There are even changes to the parking situation. With much of the former main visitor’s lot now blocked off or transformed into a new road, spaces in the East Lot have been redesignated. The first two rows are now reserved for patients and visitors, Cook said.
He said that even at peak times, there are still spaces available.
People have been positive about the changes to the hospital, Cook said.
“It’s great to see the public rally around,” he said.
The new ER is expected to open in the winter of 2020, while the MRI clinic is expected to be up and running by around this time next year.
