At a projected cost of $18.5 million, the new high acuity unit will open next week at the Nanaimo hospital. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW staff

healthcare upgrades

New Nanaimo hospital High Acuity Unit days away from opening

Aug 22, 2025 | 11:13 AM

NANAIMO — A modernized and enhanced new department to serve sick and ill patients at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH) will officially open next week.

The new High Acuity Unit (HAU) will start accepting patients on Thursday, Aug. 28, providing care for those with serious health problems, complementing the already-revamped Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Clinical nurse leader at NRGH, Jane Marriott told NanaimoNewsNOW the unit helps provide high-level care and closer monitoring.

“So versus being an acute care tower on the floor…these patients may need hemodynamic support, they may need respiratory support, some of their physiological systems might be decompensating that can’t be managed safely on a floor. The high acuity unit offers the ability for us to closely monitor patients, provide those interventions that are critical care interventions, so a higher level of care.”

(Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Leading the North

Generals and Buccaneers battle for North Division lead in the VIJHL

5h ago

early detection

'Mammograms save lives:' mobile screening clinic coming to Oceanside

8h ago

Capped Off

Clippers overrun by first place Capitals

15h ago

Each of the 12 private patient rooms offers dialysis capability, monitoring equipment, a nurses’ station, medication and utility rooms and more.

They also include designated family rooms with reclining chairs and sleeping areas.

The addition of extra room is seen as a game-changer for Marriott.

“Within this space, we have space. We can walk around our patients, we can easily get them up with our new ceiling lifts, we can lift them out of bed. We can put patients into the bathroom, which is unheard of, we’ve never been able to do that. We have all of our needs that we need to provide care.”

Increased family support, better access to the outdoors, natural lighting and more are all seen as wins in the new build, aspects which Marriott said contribute to the health and healing of any patient.

The HAU is located south of the Emergency Department and attached to the ICU, replacing the temporary eight-bed HAU set up in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This adds four new high acuity beds to the hospital, bringing the total number of high acuity and intensive care beds at NRGH to 24.

With the added facility, Marriott expects the HAU will be able to also improve care at the hospital overall, by making the process for patients much more efficient.

“We can do those quick treatments for patients, interventions like bronchoscopy, gastroscopy, chest tube insertions, anything that requires a patient to receive something called procedural sedation. We’re able to do those, a patient can have their treatment and go back to the floor, and their trajectory of care will be improved, so they can maybe go home sooner, they can get a diagnosis sooner.”

Each room offers extra space for patients, family and staff. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

While the dozen new HAU open next week, Island Health confirmed staffing is in place to operate eight beds for the time being.

The new 12-bed HAU on the hospital’s ground floor works in unison with the 12-bed ICU directly above, which opened in 2023.

The unit is designed to accommodate serious cases which require more care than a regular hospital ward can provide, but not critical enough to be admitted into the ICU.

Project capital costs reached $18.5 million, and this unit is the final phase of a $60.1 million initiative to expand critical services at NRGH, with $41.6 million provided for the ICU.

Provincial government funding for the HAU was secured in March 2023, along with funds from the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District and the Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation.

Opening the HAU is one year behind Island Health’s original projected opening date of the summer, 2024.

With the project complete, the next capital project to materialize at NRGH is the BC cancer centre.

Island Health expects formal construction to get underway on the facility this fall near the hospital’s main entrance off Dufferin Cres.

The health authority expects construction of the regional cancer centre will be complete in 2028.

Additional surface and parkade infrastructure is included in the Nanaimo cancer centre project.

Subscribe to our daily news wrap. Local news delivered to your email inbox every evening. Stay up to date on everything Nanaimo and Oceanside.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook