KAMLOOPS, B.C. — The B.C. government has approved a business plan for a new patient care tower at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, B.C.
Health Minister Terry Lake says the government expects work on the $417-million project to begin in 2018.
A release from the Health Ministry says the nine-storey tower is slated to open by 2022.
It will include three floors of in-patient beds, including mental-health beds, a new surgical suite, perinatal centre, private labour and delivery rooms, obstetrics and postpartum beds and a neonatal intensive care unit.
According to the ministry, bids will now be accepted from qualified companies for the design, construction, financing and maintenance of the tower.
Funding includes $225-million from the province and Interior Health, $172-million from the Thompson Regional Hospital District and $20 million from the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation.
"We have always been committed to Royal Inland Hospital's redevelopment, and today's announcement is the result of many years of hard work from all of our partners," Lake says in the news release.
