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J U N E 2 0 2 3 | 67 ICU Expansion – Nanaimo Regional General Hospital P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y VA N CO U V ER I S L A N D H E A LT H AU T H O R I T Y ICU EXPANSION – NANAIMO REGIONAL GENERAL HOSPITAL by ROBIN BRUNET N anaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH) on Vancouver Island is the largest hospital north of the Malahat, meaning it operates around the clock and supports patients from across the central and north island region and beyond, when they require a higher level of intensive care. That, combined with growing regional populations, is the impe- tus behind the construction of a new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at NRGH, a project that leverages the creativ- ity of architects Stantec as well as the expertise of Bird Construction to create a new space that is triple the size of the facility's previous ICU. The project had an advantage that many hospital expansions do not. David Neufeld, senior project manager at Island Health, explains, "While there have been multiple additions to this hospital since it was built in the 1960s, the property was not yet maxed out. There was still space to build plus good clinical connections." Specifically, the expansion was located on a parking lot enclosed on three sides and accommodated a new 12-bed intensive care unit (replacing the outdated ICU built in 1970). It also included space to complete a new 12-bed high acuity unit (HAU), an increase of six net new beds overall. Island Health retained Stantec for the expansion, as Stantec had been involved in several past proj- ects for Nanaimo (including the hospital's Thermal Energy Centre as well as creating more space for the Emergency Department). "We had retained Stantec in 2016 to contribute to our planning activities, and in 2019 design work began," Neufeld says. The new ICU's 12 beds would be augmented by support spaces such as a medication room, utility room, linen alcove, nourishment centre, family conference room, and wash- room. The ICU would also include improvements such as larger sin- gle-patient rooms, ceiling-mounted service booms and overhead patient lifts, a medication room, a fam- ily consult conference room, and a staff break room and rest area. One of the key architectural expressions provided by Stantec was the layout of the patient rooms and connections with staff: this translated into a central staff area surrounded by three pods of four beds each. Lightwells were incorporated into the design to help bring natural light deep into the interior, which proved to be of special benefit to patients. For the exterior, the multi-coloured panelling Stantec specified for the earlier Emergency Department expansion was replicated for this project, in addition to extensive use of brick. "Our overall goal was to move away from an institutional feel and do everything to avoid being intimidating," says Jean Phan, proj- ect manager at NRGH, adding that a sense of calm was also achieved through the use of interior colouring (that also acted as wayfinding), and spaces dedicated to local artwork.

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