A design is still being worked on as well as a construction start date but the Northern Health Authority wants work to begin on a new Seven Sisters mental health residential facility this summer.
The plan is to have this replacement facility open in approximately one year as the current one needs to be demolished to make way for the new Mills Memorial Hospital now under construction.
“The footprint of the current [Seven Sisters] building now covers what will be the new hospital’s main entrance and emergency entrance, canopies and drop off areas as well some gardens and a new parking lot,” said Sarah Artis who speaks for Northern Health.
A design for the new Seven Sisters might not be ready yet but the location has been determined — in the southwest corner of the hospital property, west of the current Mills Memorial main entrance and main parking area.
The new Seven Sisters will have 25 beds, up from the 20 in the current facility, and the additional five beds are part of an overall increase in psychiatric services for the region.
The cost for the new Seven Sisters is inclued in the overall $622.6 million budget crafted for the new Mills Memorial.
Artis said Seven Sisters residents and staffers will be told first when a construction timetable has been set.
Having both the new Seven Sisters and the new Mills Memorial underway at the same time is a change from an original plan to build the new Seven Sisters and then tear down the current one before starting the new Mills.
Doing both at the same time is now considered a more efficient use of resources and labour.