Outpatient care has improved for people in Trail and surrounding communities with the opening of the new ambulatory care wing at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH) on Sept. 20, 2021.

Other communities that will benefit include Rock Creek, Grand Forks, Castlegar, Salmo, Nelson, the Slocan Valley, Nakusp, Kaslo and Crawford Bay.

“The new ambulatory care space at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital means improved care for people in the region with more improvements also on the way,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “Patients and health-care workers now have access to modern operating rooms for outpatient procedures, freeing up valuable operating room time for other more complex procedures.”

The space is part of an ongoing redevelopment of KBRH and features new procedure rooms, endoscopy suites and recovery rooms, new patient change rooms and natural light. It was built above the new emergency department, which opened in September 2020. Ambulatory care includes outpatient procedures such as endoscopies, cystoscopies and other minor procedures, as well as treatment for acute and chronic illnesses.

“This is great news for people in the region as we have taken another step towards a fully redeveloped Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital,” said Katrine Conroy, MLA for Kootenay West. “I look forward to the new pharmacy that will be opening in the next phase as our hospital evolves into a modern facility that will serve people for decades to come.”

The new pharmacy will be three times bigger compared with the current location and is expected to open in 2022. A newly renovated medical records office has opened. Work is underway to expand the oncology unit and cast clinic, as well as to update the physiotherapy department.

The overall budget for the ambulatory care wing and pharmacy is $38.8 million: $23.3 million is funded by the provincial government and $15.5 million from the West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital District. The KBRH Health Foundation has committed to raising $750,000 for the ambulatory care development after surpassing its $1-million goal for the emergency department project.

KBRH opened in 1954 and offers a variety of health-care services, including 24-hour emergency and trauma services, a laboratory, acute and obstetrical care, psychiatry and oncology.

Quotes:

Doug Cochrane, board chair, Interior Health –

“We are excited for people in the Kootenay Boundary as these renovations are completed at the hospital and the new and improved spaces are opened to patient care. I also want to thank all of our employees and medical staff at KBRH for their ongoing and incredible commitment to patients and families through the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to them and to our partners, these renovations at the Trail hospital will benefit many people in our region.”

Suzan Hewat, chair, West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital District –

“KRBH is so important to people right across the region and this redevelopment has been and continues to be a top priority for our board. Having an enhanced regional hospital allows people to receive care in a comfortable setting when they are most in need. We are thrilled to see this new unit opening to patients.”

Lisa Pasin, director of development, KBRH Health Foundation –

“We have such an incredible community and the support we received for our emergency department campaign was overwhelming. We want to continue to raise money and support our regional hospital. We are tremendously proud to be a part of the ongoing redevelopment of Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital. These expansions will improve health care for residents of the Kootenay Boundary for years to come.”

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For photos, visit:  https://flic.kr/p/2msyaFW