Health Minister Adrian Dix was in Nanaimo on June 19 to announce the opening of the new, 12-bed ICU at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, which officially opens on June 28, 2023. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

new ICU

Nanaimo Hospital ready to open its doors on updated and long-awaited ICU

Jun 19, 2023 | 4:30 PM

NANAIMO — The long wait for a modernized and expanded intensive care unit (ICU) at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is finally over.

The new 12-bed ICU at NRGH will officially open on June 28, 2023, following years of consultations, construction and pandemic-related delays.

Health Minister Adrian Dix was in Nanaimo on Monday, June 19 for the announcement, saying this expanded ICU brings healthcare services closer to home for mid-Island residents.

“We heard the needs of people in Nanaimo, and I’m proud that our government responded with a new ICU that provides both a technological upgrade and an expansion in size to provide better healthcare services.”

Along with 12 new beds, the improved ICU also includes larger single-patient rooms, a medication room and a family consult room.

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A look at one of the new and improved ICU rooms at NRGH. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Dix was joined by MLA for Nanaimo Sheila Malcolmson, MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan Doug Routley, Mayor Leonard Krog, members of Island Health and the Nanaimo Regional Hospital Foundation and others for the opening of the much improved ICU.

Malcolmson said this new ICU means the people of Nanaimo and surrounding area can get the vital, urgent health care they need.

“We all want better health care for people, so we delivered on a new ICU that Nanaimo can count on.”

Malcolmson said in a report 2013, the Nanaimo ICU was reportedly one of “the most dangerous” in Canada due to its age and less-than-ideal conditions.

Construction of the new ICU for critically ill patients has been in the works for NRGH for a number of years now.

Thirty-four million dollars was pledged to replace the “outdated” facility more than four years ago, with staff optimistic the new improvements would replace their outdated facility.

Work is also being done on a new high-acuity unit (HAU) at NRGH, with provincial funding announced earlier this year.

The new 12-bed HAU will be located directly below the new ICU, and will replace the current, temporary eight-bed HAU.

The new high-acuity unit will include a nurse station and support spaces, while working in close proximity with the new ICU in terms of patient flow.

The new HAU is expected to open in the summer of 2024.

NRGH staff members, Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog (back right) and others join Health Minister Adrian Dix (kneeling) for Monday’s announcement of the opening of the new ICU. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Both projects combined cost a total of $60.1 million, with the ICU price tag at $41.6 million and the HAU coming in at $18.5 million.

The cost is shared between the provincial government and through Island Health, the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District, and the Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation (NDHF).

CEO of the NDHF Barney Ellis-Perry said he is “awed and humbled” by the support from the central Island community, managing to donate over $5 million for new equipment for the ICU.

“We know this investment will positively impact health outcomes in the region, and help to retain and recruit top medical staff talent to the region.”

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow