Hospital site uncertain
Health region scouts U of S for children's hospital locations
By Lana Haight, The Star Phoenix July 25, 2009 Be the first to post a comment
Aiden McRorie-Wilson (9) and brother Liam McRorie-Wilson, were part of a group of youngsters operating a lemonade stand on Lenore Drive Friday to raise funds for a new children's hospital. Last year the stand raised about $300
Photograph by: Greg Pender, The Star Phoenix
Administrators are weighing the pros and cons of a couple of possible locations on the University of Saskatchewan campus for a provincial children's hospital.
"It's very challenging on this site because (Royal University Hospital) is really a number of different buildings built at different times," said Bette Boechler, director of maternal and children's health for Saskatoon Health Region.
Since the provincial government announced in March it is allocating $200 million over two years to build the hospital, health region administrators have been trying to decide where to build the facility. Initially, they expected to make a recommendation to the Saskatoon Regional Health Authority before the summer.
"There were too many unknowns. This is a very precious provincial resource that we're building and, I believe, we want to be as well-informed as we can when we make the decision," said Boechler.
In determining the location, access is paramount.
Families with children need to be able to drive up to the entrance and immediately enter the building. And parking needs to be near the entrance, unlike the RUH parking lot, which is joined to the main building via an overhead walkway. Once families are in the building, it's important for all services to be close-at-hand.
The hospital building also needs to be easily recognizable, says Boechler.
"If you're walking on the riverbank, we want people to be able to see and say, 'Oh, that's the children's hospital,' in the same way you can see the mental health building."
While a river-view from the hospital would be great, it is not essential. It is important to design the facility with some "green space."
"It (would be) a place where you can walk outside, sit. Perhaps, there are things that children can do. It's a place where families can get away with their children and spend some time outside."
The children's hospital will definitely be adjacent to RUH. The exact location has been narrowed to two options: Tear down Ellis Hall to clear an area or annex a portion of the RUH parkade.
"I don't think either site is perfect," said Boechler.
Before deciding between the two, the administrators want to see some "high level" architectural drawings for both options.
"That will give us a much better idea of traffic flow, of patient flow, how it will impact our adult services. Through that, I believe, we will be able to make a much better informed decision than we are right now without having any concept of visually how this would work. We look outside and we think it will go this way or that way, but we don't really know," she said.
Boechler doesn't rule out other possibilities if the architect has suggestions for a different location.
But the health region has not hired an architect. That won't happen until after a project manager has been hired, something Boechler expects within the next couple of months.
Originally, the provincial government's target for opening a children's hospital was 2012 or 2013. Saskatoon Health Region president and CEO Maura Davies has called that an "aggressive" target. With construction taking four or five years, it could be 2014 before the hospital is ready to accept patients, says Boechler.
The Children's Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan continues to raise funds to purchase furnishings and equipment for the hospital. An official launch to the capital campaign is scheduled for October, says Bryan Richards, chair of the foundation.
Even without an official campaign, donations -- large and small -- continue to come in.
"It's just fabulous," said Richards.
Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island are the only two provinces in Canada without a dedicated children's hospital.
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Tear down Ellis Hall or annex part of the RUH parkade? Hmmmm that's a tough one
Annex the parkade, even though they recently spent some coin strengthening the support structures (cracking?).
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