Fort St. James health facility nears completion

FORT ST. JAMES, B.C. – A new hospital and health care centre in Fort St. James, B.C. is nearing substantial completion.

The project is expected to be substantially complete on Oct. 8, a release said, and the facility will replace the outdated hospital, combining primary, acute and long-term care in one location. It will house 27 beds, with 18 long-term care and nine acute care beds.

The new facility will also have an expanded emergency department with two treatment rooms, a trauma bay and an ambulance bay as well as a larger laboratory and diagnostic imaging (X-ray) and palliative-care spaces.

The total capital cost is $158.3 million, funded by the province through Northern Health, and an $18.4-million contribution from the Stuart-Nechako Regional Hospital District.

Patients will start receiving care in the new facility when it opens in January 2025 and demolition of the current hospital is anticipated to begin early in 2025, with full completion of the project expected in September 2025, the release said.