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Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility by Jerry Eberts photos: kt photography H ealth care continues to progress, but so do costs. The Southwest Inte- grated Healthcare Facility in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan aims to provide a new standard of rural health care ser- vices. "The Facility combines 48 long-term care beds split among three 'homes,' 24 acute-care beds and 20 universal care treatment spaces wherein all health care services will be provided under one roof in a multidisciplinary team envi- ronment," says Scott Matthies, director of workforce planning and staff devel- opment at Cypress Health Region. "From a construction perspective, this project is an amalgamation of three previously existing health care facili- ties in Maple Creek: Maple Creek Union Hospital, Cypress Lodge Nursing Home and Pacific Avenue Primary Healthcare Clinic," says Matthies. Formal planning for this project began in 2011, with early site work starting in fall 2012. "The site required considerable remediation in order to raise the construction site above the flood plain. Additionally, the soil struc- ture required more than 600 pilings be placed in order to ensure structural integrity," says Matthies. The Cypress Health Region also has experience with other facilities, though the project in Maple Creek is unique. "Our organization built a new regional hospital, completed in 2007, in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. The design and expectations of these two facilities are very different and the context of build- ing in a rural location versus a more urban setting is also quite different," says Matthies. Bob Friesen is the principal in charge of the facility. He says, "Stantec is pro- viding architectural design, structural, mechanical, electrical and civil engi- neering, medical planning, interior design and landscape design services for this new one-storey construction design-bid-build project." To encourage a team-based approach to health care, Stantec designers elimi- nated dedicated office and treatment spaces. "It was vital to create spaces that were pleasant, functional and con- nected to nature wherever possible," explains Friesen. "More importantly, the quality of life for the 48 long-term care residents is expected to improve dra- matically. Patient houses are designed to be residential in character, scale, organization and operation. Residents, visitors and caregivers are able to par- ticipate in daily rituals in spaces and rooms similar to those found in a private home." What makes this project unique is its all-in-one design. "The universal care platform will allow patients to have key services in a one-stop environment, avoiding handoffs and extra travel to obtain basic health care services," says Friesen. When it comes to the characteristics of the Facility, there are plenty. "Incor- porating the unique requirements of long-term care, acute care and primary health care into one functional environ- ment was exceptionally challenging," says Matthies. "Additionally, our mod- els of care are changing dramatically as a part of our move to this new facility. Consequently, designing the building to meet a future model of care that has not yet been fully operationalized any- where in the world has been a signifi- cant challenge." Among the construction elements are the expansive use of natural light throughout the facility, long-term care components that most closely resemble a home as opposed to an institution, and primary health care environments – each outfitted with dozens of clinical video conferencing units to allow for real-time connection with regional and tertiary health care providers. "The facility has two external gated courtyards for long-term care residents, along with an internal courtyard for both public use and use of residents. The facility incorporates overnight spaces called bunkhouses for family mem- bers to stay near their loved ones while receiving care," adds Matthies. "The facility boasts ceiling track lifts in all patient/resident areas. All rooms – both acute and long-term care — are equipped with full washroom/shower facilities. And each long-term care home has a dedicated spa where residents will receive therapeutic bathing treatments. There is also a hair salon and a café in the facility," explains Matthies. One challenge faced by the team was the main entry to the building. "It fea- tures large glazing and exposed timber and beam construction," says Matthies. "Developing a mechanism to adequately support the glazing while not unneces- sarily damaging or otherwise nega- tively impacting the timber elements was an interesting challenge." Tom Bain was senior project man- ager for Graham Construction, general contractor. He says the team has been good to work with and everything has moved smoothly. "We're in the closing stages now," says Bain. "There have been a few hiccups along the way, but no major constraints. We're on target to meet our deadline, which is always our goal." Friesen adds that design and delivery of the project has been straight- forward and substantial completion is anticipated for late fall 2014. ■ Location 575 Highway 21 South, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan owner/deveLoper Cypress Health Region project manager ZW Group architect/StructuraL/ mechanicaL/eLectricaL/civiL/ medicaL pLanning/interior deSign/LandScape architect Stantec generaL contractor Graham Construction totaL area 7,982 square metres totaL conStruction coSt $38 million totaL project coSt $45 million october 2014 /91 Southwest Integrated Healthcare Facility 10:24 AM 11:55 AM 10:49 AM

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