Released on May 5, 2017
Today The Battlefords MLA Herb Cox on behalf of Health Minister Jim Reiter joined residents, staff and community members in North Battleford to celebrate 60 per cent completion of the province’s new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford (SHNB).“Our government recognizes the need for appropriate and timely access to mental health services, and the new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford is a key step forward in our commitment to improve those services,” Cox said. “This project remains important to our government, as well as to the people of Saskatchewan.”
This milestone event comes during National Mental Health Week, May 1-7, 2017.
“There is no better time than Mental Health Week to celebrate the progress to date on construction of the new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford,” Prairie North Regional Health Authority Board Chairperson Bonnie O’Grady said. “SHNB has been providing quality mental health care for over a century, and will continue to do so in this exceptional new and innovative facility. With completion just over a year away, excitement continues to build among patients and staff.”Much of the exterior is now complete. Structural and secondary steel, metal decking, exterior wall panels, and roofing membrane have all been installed. Work now progresses to finish the building envelope, rough-in mechanical and electrical, and put in place the building’s “home-like” interior.
Graham Construction, which has its roots in Moose Jaw, is leading construction as part of the consortium team, Access Prairies Partnership.
“Graham is proud to partner with the province and the Prairie North Regional Health Authority to build the vision of an integrated mental health complex for the residents of Saskatchewan,” Graham Construction President and CEO Grant Beck said. “Our focus is to deliver value for our clients that extends beyond the materials and timelines -- we’ll carry this forward for many years to come as part of the team tasked with maintaining the facility.”
Overall, contractors have put in more than 535,000 hours of work to keep the new SHNB on-time and on-budget. Twenty per cent of workers on site are Indigenous, with 25 Saskatchewan companies involved thus far.
“Saskatchewan companies are some of the best in the world,” Battlefords Chamber of Commerce President Warren Williams said. “That construction on a project this big remains on-schedule is a testament to their talents and commitment. We’re thrilled this project is providing work for various local companies, many of whom are proud members of the chamber of commerce.”
The new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford is a key step forward in government’s commitment to improve mental health services in Saskatchewan, and to act on the recommendations in the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan. This innovative approach to delivering mental health care and supports will ensure people get the help they need, when they need it, and in the best possible environment.
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For more information, contact:
Shirley Xie
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: shirley.xie@health.gov.sk.ca
Linda Lewis
Prairie North Health Region
North Battleford
Phone: 306-446-6625
Email: linda.lewis@pnrha.ca
Orlene King
Access Prairies Partnership (APP)
Phone: 403-570-5021
Email: orlenek@graham.ca