Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/354800
The HOpe Centre – Lions Gate Hospital by Peter Caulfield T he Greta and Robert H.N. Ho Centre for Psychiatry and Education (HOpe Centre) is a brand new, state-of-the- art treatment facility located on the grounds of Lions Gate Hospital (LGH) in North Vancouver, B.C. It replaces LGH's current psychiat- ric inpatient unit, which is located in the original North Vancouver General Hospital that dates back to 1929. The new facility will consolidate most of the mental health and addiction out- patient clinics that are currently spread across the North Shore. It will also con- tain the North Shore Adult Community Mental Health Services, a British Colum- bia Ambulance Service ( BCAS) station and the Djavad Mowafaghian University of British Columbia (UBC) Medical Edu- cation Centre. Located on the south-east corner of the LGH campus, the HOpe Centre stands out from the residential neigh- bourhood surrounding it. It has six f loors, four of which are above ground and is approximately 158,000 square feet in area. The facility will contain 26 beds (plus two over- capacity) in single, private rooms, each with a bathroom. This is a significant change from the current ward style, with four to six beds per room. Single rooms mean patients don't have the added stress of sharing a room with strangers, which reduces patient anxi- ety and supports recovery. The HOpe Centre has two seclusion rooms that can be used by all types of patients. The facility also has an enclosed deck, which enables patients to enjoy the outdoors safely while they are in hospital. The first level of the centre contains several important facilities. An all- faith sacred space will integrate First Nations' ceremonies and Aboriginal health concepts into mental health and addiction programs. A resource centre will contain information about mental health in reference books, journals, videos and the Internet. The centre can be used by patients, families and individuals who are not yet in care, but who are looking for information. There is also a social enter- prise café run by Blenz Coffee through the Canadian Mental Health Associa- tion. The café will provide employment opportunities for patients with mental illness and help them work successfully in a supportive environment. An important feature of the HOpe Centre is service integration obtained by service co-location – this enables the sharing of administrative resources and allows staff to adjust the level of individual patient care, because all the services they need are in one facility. The HOpe Centre is built to LEED Gold certification and B.C.'s Wood First Init iat ive, which encourages the use of wood in construction. It is also a participant in BC Hydro's New Construction Energy Modelling program. The Centre is the first phase of LGH's Master Plan to join the Lonsdale Energy Corporation of North Vancouver. The district energy system consists of nat- ural gas boilers, ground source heat pumps and solar thermal panels to heat hot water, which provides energy for buildings connected to the system. UBC's Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health is a new facility with a purpose to train more doctors at LGH. The facility will contain eight on- call rooms (spaces for students and residents to sleep or study when not tending to patients); a student lounge; eight clinical sk ills rooms (f ully- equipped examination rooms that allow students and residents to interact with patients and their instructors without ALL IMAGES COURTESY VANCOUVER COASTAL HEALTH 94/ AUGUST 2014 The HOpe Centre – Lions Gate Hospital