Work to deconstruct the old Lakes District Hospital in Burns Lake has already begun, but the actual demolition of the building is expected to take place in early May, 2015.
“The old Lakes District Hospital served the community very well for over 50 years and definitely leaves behind a great legacy in the Lakes District,” said John Rustad, MLA for Nechako Lakes.
Most of the work to take down the old hospital will include excavators that will safely break down the structure, and then clear the debris.
The process of hazardous material remediation, decommissioning of equipment not transferred to the new facility, and disposal of other items inside the hospital has already occurred.
The old Lakes District Hospital was built in 1960. Over the last 10 years the old hospital has had over 47,000 inpatients and 103,268 visits. In the last decade, there have been over 48,000 x-rays and over one million lab tests.
“There are a lot of memories for the staff and physicians that worked in the old facility and it will definitely be remembered fondly,” said Marie Hunter, Northern Health Lakes District Health Service Administrator.
The space previously occupied by the old facility will be used for parking for the new Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre. It is expected that the new parking lot and landscaping work will be completed by fall of 2015.