The new, three storey facility houses the pre and post-operating patient areas, a cardiac intensive care unit and the central sterilization and reprocessing department. The Centre provides clinical space for up to 600 open heart procedures per year.
The building is LEED® Gold Certified and showcases the use of BC timber products in a health care setting, in accordance with BC's Wood First Act.
The Interior Heart and Surgical Centre also houses the central medical device sterilization/reprocessing functions for the entire Kelowna General Hospital campus, providing efficient, safe and effective sterilization services to patients and staff in every department.
Design features
WELLNESS ENVIRONMENT AND EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN
The Interior Heart and Surgical Centre's design focuses on creating a warm, welcoming healing space for patients, staff and the community.
Plenary Health incorporated Evidence-Based Design features such as:
- direct access to natural light and outdoor spaces for patients, staff and families
- a holistic interior design philosophy that features the use of wood that is elder and pediatric-friendly
- provide patients with the ability to control their environment
- distraction-free environments that emphasize visual and acoustic privacy.
OPTIMIZED CLINICAL UTILIZATION
The Centre has been designed to provide the best possible clinical outcomes by providing:
- centralized, fully-enclosed, same-handed medication rooms
- reduced travel distances between and within clinical departments
- clear segregation of patient, public, staff and logistics travel flows.
ADAPTABLE, FLEXIBLE DESIGN
Every aspect of the design, from clinical layouts to structural grids has been developed with future flexibility in mind. The interiors have been structured so that the building can be reconfigured to adjust to evolving demographics and clinical best practices. In addition, the facility has been designed to accommodate an additional floor, which will add a 32 bed inpatient unit.
ENERGY EFFICIENT
Plenary Health has provided the Authority for a 30-year energy guarantee for the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre. By integrating the architectural, mechanical and electrical designs with our long-term operations plan, the Centre assists the Authority in meeting its long term sustainability objectives.
Innovations
GEOTECHNICAL SOLUTION
In addition to the clinical design innovations, Plenary's design also considered innovations outside of the clinical and architectural features of the building. The geotechnical conditions in Kelowna are challenging, with unstable silty ground conditions the norm.
Drawing from the expertise of our structural and geotechnical engineers, the team developed a truly innovative ground preparation strategy that allowed the building to be completed nine months earlier than initially expected. This solution delivered both financial and clinical benefits for the hospital.
Local economic impacts
The project helped to provide economic stimulus by creating and supporting hundreds of jobs with labour largely being drawn from the Okanagan Area. At the peak of construction, it was estimated that 180 workers were on site daily.