FORT ST. JAMES, B.C. — The new hospital in Fort St. James is now called Nats’oojeh (Nat-Soo-Jay) Hospital and Health Centre, reflecting the Dakelh First Nations heritage.
It means “everyone healing” and was chosen in consultation with the guidance of Elders and language experts from the Nak’azdli, Binche, Tl’azt’en, Yekooche and Takla First Nations.
For the hospital’s construction, Dakelh First Nations were engaged throughout the design process to help ensure it was welcoming and reflective of their cultures and health practices, states a release. This includes a spiritual space, smudging area, healing garden, traditional plants and medicines.
The new facility, which opened Jan. 14, is three times the size of the previous hospital. It has 27 beds, including 18 long-term-care and nine acute-care beds, and an expanded emergency department with two treatment rooms, a trauma bay and an ambulance bay. There are also a bigger laboratory and diagnostic imaging spaces.
The previous hospital opened in 1972 and was outdated in terms of space, size, functionality and technology. It had 12 beds and no decontamination room or dedicated area to receive, assess or triage patients in the emergency department, the release adds. The facility also had only two treatment bays, one trauma room and no ambulance bay.
The total capital cost of the project is $158.3 million, including $139.9 million funded by the Province of B.C. through Northern Health and an $18.4-million contribution from the Stuart-Nechako Regional Hospital District.
Demolition of the old hospital began in March.
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