The end of an era and the beginning of a new one. An excavator began to plow through the 60 year old Mills Memorial Hospital structure today. Although there was some pushback from community groups on the viability of repurposing the old Mills Memorial Hospital, ultimately the structure was deemed not suitable.
According to Northern Health, the demolition will take roughly two to three months to complete and will only use mechanical demolition equipment. Wrecking balls or explosion/implosion methods won’t be used in the demolition.
PCL Construction will be using watering methods to keep dust down, similar to what was done during the construction of the hospital, and vibration will be monitored to make sure it is within acceptable levels. Northern Health says that equipment has already been moved from the old hospital and items that were still useable were repurposed whenever possible including being sent to other Northern Health locations. Following demolition, the area will be converted for parking to ensure that there is parking on site for patients, staff, and visitors.
The new hospital is more than twice the size of the previous facility and has 82 beds. It features private rooms, a bigger emergency department space including two trauma bays, six stretcher bays, pediatric care space, and four operating rooms, as well as the latest diagnostic imaging equipment.