The Northern Health Authority is soon to move administrators and support staff into a building most recently occupied by Valard, the main contractor of BC Hydro’s Northwest Transmission Line.
Interior work of the building on the corner of Lazelle Ave. and Sparks should be finished in April, says Penny Anguish who runs the authority’s northwest region.
The authority now has the majority of its administrators and support staff on an upper floor of the Trigo building on Kalum.
“Over time it just became too small and we’ve been looking around for an alternate location,” said Anguish.
The authority is also planning to move administrative and support people in other Terrace locations into the new space.
Lack of space also meant that some authority employees who would normally be based in Terrace were instead in other cities.
“Where it will make sense, those people can now be based here,” said Anguish. That list includes a person who works with health care facilities on chronic disease issues and one concerned with aboriginal health issues.
“We also now have a full time northwest medical health officer,” said Anguish.
Improved communication and contact are advantages of having more of the authority’s employees in one location, she said.
The Sparks and Lazelle Ave. building was first constructed for the Northern Savings Credit Union when it expanded from Prince Rupert into Terrace.
When the Terrace and District Credit Union was merged with the Northern Savings Credit Union, the building became vacant when Northern Savings built its current building just across Sparks.