A mock-up ICU room built in the basement of NRGH is allowing staff to better layout and refine the final design of the finished product, based on lived experience from the last few years. (submitted photo)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

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‘Level of engineering is phenomenal:’ NRGH ICU construction well underway during latest Smile Cookie campaign

Sep 20, 2022 | 5:37 AM

NANAIMO — Put the diet on pause for a good cause, it’s Smile Cookie week at participating Tim Hortons locations.

For those in Nanaimo, the tasty treats will help raise funds for the Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation’s push to outfit the new $41 million intensive care unit at NRGH with all the necessary equipment.

Barney Ellis-Perry, CEO of the foundation, told NanaimoNewsNOW the campaign comes at a time when construction of the new addition to the hospital is well underway.

“The whole structure is there, a three storey structure and on the third floor where the ICU will be there’s already rooms where the gyprock is starting to go up. It’s cool to see it before the gyprock goes up because the level of engineering is phenomenal.”

The new facility will replace an aging, outdated model already on site at the hospital.

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Ellis-Perry said over 400 patients went through the unit last year, part of over 60,000 who visited the emergency department at NRGH.

The experience of the pandemic also had real-world effects on the layout of the rooms in the unit, with a scale replica built in the hospital basement to allow staff to modify the design.

“Our teams learned a lot, our doctors learned a lot and they actually have designed these rooms quite different based on their response to COVID and what they went through and to prepare for future pandemics. Hopefully we never do, but if we have to go through something like that again,” Ellis-Perry said.

He added it could save the project potentially millions of dollars by avoiding costly changes down the line.

Filtration is a major improvement to the rooms as a result of the pandemic, with better control of airflow through the unit.

A new negative pressure room will also be used for those battling infectious diseases. The room will have a high-tech decontamination area which separates the patient room with the rest of the hospital.

“The nurse station looks right into the room, though the glass, which can actually be frosted at the push of a button. You can still give the patient all the privacy and security, but it’s a really cool way of doing it so that it’s a lot safer for other members of the hospital.”

Smaller changes as well will make life easier for patient and staff.

The beds are three to four feet away from the wall to allow easier access to a patient’s head for processes like intubation.

Clocks will go on a side wall instead of directly in front of a patient and all the rooms will have TV’s.

The new ICU is expected to open fall 2023, at which point the Hospital Foundation will turn its attention to the new high acuity unit underneath, which will be designed to be a step down in critical care from the ICU.

Smile Cookie Campaign runs Sept. 19 to 25, with cookies costing $2 each and proceeds directly supporting the ICU project.

Construction is well underway at the new ICU unit for Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. (submitted photo)

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