Pharmacy upgrades at East Kootenay Regional Hospital are moving forward as the $1.45 million project is now headed to conceptual design.
Interior Health recently awarded the design contract for the renovation, which is of higher priority than oncology, dialysis, and lab upgrades previously requested by the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District (KERHD).
“At least we’re starting,” said Dean McKerracher, KERHD Board Chair. “It’s not the four projects that we thought would happen. All along they’ve been telling me and out Board that it’s only going to be two projects, but at the end of the day, the four are still in the line.”
“The oncology, the dialysis, the lab, and the pharmacy will go on in due time, but of course the pharmacy is 2020,” McKerracher told MyEastKootenayNow.com. “May 2020 is where they have to be completed and ready to operate in there, so that will take the priority.”
Back in December 2018, Interior Health greenlit a $400,000 Master Plan of East Kootenay Regional Hospital (EKRH) to determine the needs of Cranbrook’s hospital and what renovations were of higher priority. At that time Interior Health only seriously looked at pharmacy and oncology, pushing aside the dialysis and lab units for the time being.
More: Interior Health Approves EKRH Master Plan to Upgrade Oncology and Pharmacy (December 11, 2018)
The EKRH pharmacy is of the utmost priority due to national standards requiring mandatory upgrades.
Regardless, Interior Health told the KERHD Board on Friday that several renovations and equipment upgrades at EKRH are slated for completion by fall 2019
- Medstations and Pharmaceutical Distribution Pyxis Replacement (includes Creston Regional Hospital)
- $1.3 million – Fall 2019
- Biomed Renovation
- $491,000 – Fall 2019
- Urology System
- $623,000 – Fall 2019
- Electronic Emergency Department
- $220,000 – Fall 2019
- Nursing Station
- $86,500 – September 2019
- Integrated Chemistry/Immunochemistry Analyzer (Request for Proposal)
- $322,00o
The KERHD reconvenes in November, where they expect further updates from Interior Health on the EKRH Master Plan and the status of major renovations coming down the line to the pharmacy, oncology, dialysis, and lab .
