Then Minister of Health, Adrian Dix, announced the approval of Northern Health’s (NH) business plan for an Acute Care Tower in the fall of 2024 and since then residents of Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh have seen the completion of a parking garage at the University Hospital of Northern BC (UHNBC) campus, but many wonder what is happening with the tower now.

Providing an update for CFURadio is NH’s Jack Jenkinson, Director of Clinical Planning and Operational Readiness, with a focus on mental health and substance use. Jenkinson walked us through: moving the Northern Interior Health Unit (NIHU) building’s services across the road to Parkwood Place to fill the former Bay location, so that footprint can be filled with the new tower, the collaborative Alliance Development Agreement in place for construction, how many patient units it will provide, including withdrawal management and more, tentatively set to break ground in early 2027. While the use of the vacated space opened up by the new building is being determined, a long-term care project is underway at 6500 Southridge Avenue in the College Heights neighborhood.

Speaking to the current stress on the services NH provides, and the solutions the tower could bring, Jenkinsons says:

“We have multiple aims with this project, and so often there are conversations around capacity and conversations around services. But if we can provide the right type of services, in the right space, at the right time, what that does is alleviate the need for acute care, and it supports the patients, directly supports the community, and it supports the people that are working in that location as well. So we’re trying to think about this in an innovative way so that we can provide the best care possible.”

More information on the Acute Care Tower action plan can be found on the Let’s Talk Northern Health site.

- Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter