Work on the Cariboo Memorial Hospital’s (CMH) new tower is shifting indoors now that construction of the exterior nears completion.

“Steady progress is being made,” said Karen Cooper, executive director of clinical operations for Interior Health’s (IH) Thompson Cariboo Rural region, in an interview with the Tribune.

Cooper said that the hospital redevelopment design-builder — Graham Construction — has extended the completion date for the first phase of the project by a couple months, pushing the opening date for the new tower from late 2026 to early 2027. However, their contract allows for only one extension, so Cooper expects the project will otherwise go ahead as scheduled.

“We’re all excited to be in the new space…but we still provide high quality care,” Cooper said when asked how the delay might impact access to care. “It will be business as usual until then.”

Al Richmond, chair of the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District (CCRHD), commended the contractors for their work, noting they did a great job navigating the project through the Covid-19 pandemic which itself presented delays.

“It’s unfortunate, but it’s not a significant delay,” Richmond said of the 59-day push for the completion of the project’s first phase.

Richmond had a tour of the hospital’s new tower, which he said from the outside is looking substantially complete, but there remains much to be done inside.

“It’s a really nice facility,” Richmond said, calling it a “massive build” for Williams Lake.

Moving into the new tower

In the following months, crews will be working on finishing touches to the new tower such as installing floors, walls and ceilings as well as working on electrical, heating and ventilation systems. Crews are also working on linking the existing hospital with the new tower.

Once phase one of the project is complete, services will move to the new tower where the maternity unit will see one additional bed. Eight additional beds will also open in the new medical/surgical inpatient unit, bringing the total to 28. Another eight inpatient beds are expected to become operational at a future date.

On the tower’s main level, where the emergency department (ED) will move to and will go from 11 to 23 bays as well as two trauma treatment bays, two specialized procedure rooms, an ambulance carport and a separate public entrance.

A big change is that care will now be provided in separate rooms in the ED.

“Instead of curtains around our beds it will be separate rooms…just really a much nicer experience for our patients,” Cooper said.

CMH’s pharmacy department will also be moving to the new tower.

Phase 2 expected to be complete in 2029

Meanwhile, Graham Construction will begin work on the existing hospital building in early 2027, where the second floor will house a new Mental Health and Substance Use unit with eight beds.

“They will no longer have to travel to Kamloops,” Cooper said, explaining the unit would serve mainly patients in acute mental health crisis but will also include withdrawal treatment.

The current ED will become a space for ambulatory care for minor procedures where patients go for the day rather than get admitted to the hospital.

Phase two of the project will also see an academic space built on the third floor of the existing building for the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine.

“It will be a place to call their own,” Cooper said about the space where students on a practicum can learn. “We hope that creates a bit of a pipeline of future providers.”

The project, which currently remains on budget, is expected to be complete in 2029 and will include an interfaith space for traditional cultural and healing practices, smudging in patient rooms and 71 new parking stalls.

IH said it is collaborating with local nations to ensure local Indigenous culture is reflected in the hospital’s new design, such as through a sculpture at the hospital entrance, language translations on exterior and parking signage and the use of native plant themes throughout the hospital’s interior design.

Staffing and wait times

All this work has people such as city Coun. Sheila Boehm wondering how IH will staff expanding services in Williams Lake, a question she voiced during an Oct. 21 regular council meeting discussion about whether treatment facilities could help address homelessness.

Read more: City of Williams Lake calls for local treatment facility

Cooper told the Tribune IH has been doing early draws of operational dollars, allowing it to staff the hospital ahead of time so teams are ready once the redevelopment project is complete, which itself won’t hurt recruitment efforts.

“The two go together, when you have … (a) new space with the latest and greatest equipment and technology it becomes a very attractive place to work,” Cooper said.

Richmond agreed. “It will modernize our hospital to present-day standards… (and) will help us attract healthcare professionals,” he said of the redevelopment project.

Cooper added that seven graduating nurses began work at CMH this year and three new physicians have come to Williams Lake, one of which joined the ED team in August and the other two working as primary care providers, helping to keep minor cases from ending up at the ED.

“I know that (recruitment) number will continue to go up,” Cooper said.

“Recruitment is a problem throughout Canada and throughout the world,” Richmond said. “We’re competing with Canadians across Canada and against the U.S.”

Upgrading facilities and improving the services available to health care professionals in the region are a key part of recruitment and retention efforts. Richmond said the CCRHD dedicates $350,000 annually to ensure newly-settled or locum care providers are well-received and supported in the Cariboo. A point of contact person helps newcomers with finding appropriate accommodations and with answering questions such as where to go to register their child to school.

“We’ve found some success,” Richmond said about these efforts which have helped reduce the number of service interruptions in the region. “Our ERs are open because of the locums that come from other communities…so we want to make sure that’s as attractive as possible.”

Meanwhile, Cooper said the new Urgent and Primary Care Centre (UPCC) in Williams Lake has been taking on patients who otherwise may end up in the emergency.

Since its opening in April 2025 to the date of the interview on Oct. 27, the UPCC served a total of 7,832 patients, 961 (12 per cent) of which were redirected to the emergency. With the CMH ED currently seeing an average of 61 patient visits per day, with recent highs in the 70’s, wait times for emergency services have ranged from a low of one hour and five minutes in April to a high of one hour and 21 minutes in February. September’s average was one hour and 13 minutes.

To learn more about the project visit https://engageih.ca/cmh-redevelopment.