March 5, 2024

Emergency Department Waiting Area: Beginning Monday, March 11, construction will begin in the Emergency Department (ED) waiting area. For approximately two weeks, the ED main doors will close for re-flooring work. A temporary entrance will be open in the courtyard west of the ED. Patients will be routed through the west, side door. Please follow the cones and signage. Staff and volunteers will be available to help direct patients.  

Exterior Elevator Shaft: Work continues in the ambulance bay this month to build the elevator shaft and stairwell leading to the rooftop helipad.

Main Entrance Lobby: The hallway between the Main Lobby and the 24th Street building is now open. We are pleased to extend the hours of operation at the Main Entrance to 8 p.m., Monday–Friday beginning April 1.

All patients should register at the Main Entrance (24th Street) to access services for diagnostic imaging, lab and surgery during regular business hours, Monday-Friday, 6 a.m. –8 p.m.* and Saturday, 7:30 a.m. –1 p.m. This entrance is closed on Sunday.

The ED entrance should only be used for emergency patients and after-hours access to the hospital. All after-hours appointments and visitors will register in the ED.

*Beginning April 1, the lobby will be open until 8 p.m., Monday–Friday. From March 1–31, the lobby will be open until 6 p.m., Monday–Friday.

January 1, 2024:

Happy New Year! Great progress was made on the project in 2023!

Main Hospital Entrance Lobby: The lobby is now open to patients and visitors. The contractor will be working on a few punch-list items over the coming weeks. The door to the 24th Street Clinics will be closed until work is completed. Patients seeking to check in for laboratory services, diagnostic imaging, or surgical services will use the Main Entrance during regular business hours, Monday―Friday 6:00 a.m.―6 p.m., Saturday 7:30 a.m.―1 p.m. This entrance is closed on Sunday. The ED entrance will only be used for emergency patients and after-hours access to the hospital. All after-hours appointments and visitors will register in the ED.

Central Waiting: Work has started to convert Central Registration to Central Waiting. Seating will be available for patients during construction, but it will be somewhat limited. We anticipate construction in this area throughout the month of January.

Emergency Department: The ambulance bay is reopened and work in the ED continues to update flooring, paint and casework.

Rooftop Helipad: We now have a helipad on the roof! Work will continue for several months to finalize the elevator and stairwell and install safety features on the roof.

December 8, 2023:

The first phase of the Emergency Services Project will be completed soon, with the Main Entrance lobby reopening at the end of the month! As a reminder, patients and visitors will be rerouted through the courtyard until work is completed in this area.

Construction within the Emergency Department (ED) continues. We have completed the first two areas with new flooring and paint and are moving on to the third segment. Work will pause during the week of Christmas and resume on December 27.

More work on the roof will resume this month, which requires using the crane in the ED roundabout. Please note that traffic will be rerouted in the ED parking lot, and foot traffic will be prohibited through the atrium connecting the ED to the 25th Street building while the crane is in use.

Patients accessing the 25th Street Building for physical therapy, wound care, cancer care or urology should use the parking lot to the north off Commerical Avenue and 25th Street.

Patients accessing diagnostic imaging, lab or surgical services should park in the 24th Street parking lot. The ED entrance off 26th Street is reserved for ED patients and after-hours access to the hospital.

November 1: The Emergency Services Project is progressing well! In mid-November, significant construction work will begin within the Emergency Department (ED). The work includes new flooring, painting and casework around the central workstation. We anticipate this portion of the project to take approximately three months to complete due to the need to phase the work to keep our ED fully operational during construction.

Outside of the ED, we will begin to see the installation of the elevator shaft as well as the staircase to access the rooftop helipad.

Within the Main Registration lobby, finishing work will be completed with painting and casework. We anticipate the lobby will reopen by the end of 2023. Thank you for your continued patience as we work to update several spaces throughout the organization.

September 21, 2023: Crane activity will begin in the Emergency Department (ED) roundabout next week. This will involve some traffic redirection near the ED entrance and ED parking lot over the next few weeks. While the ED entrance will remain open during construction, patients may see traffic rerouted around the parking lot to access the entrance during crane activity. The map below shows revised traffic patterns during crane activity.

Island Health is working with our contractors to minimize crane activity and implement all safety precautions. Those precautions include encouraging all patients to use the entrances off of 24th or 25th Streets to access appointments. In addition, a security guard will monitor atrium traffic during any crane activity, and plenty of cones and signage will be placed to direct traffic, when necessary.

The ED entrance and parking lot off of 26th Street and Commercial Avenue should be reserved for patients needing to access the Emergency Department only. All patient discharges from Acute Care, Intensive Care, Birth Center and Surgery will be via the Main Entrance off of 24th Street, and this is where patients will be picked up by their support person.

September 1, 2023: Our construction continues to progress with work in three areas, including:

• Ambulance bay outside of the Emergency Department to construct the elevator shaft
• Hospital rooftop for the helipad supports
• Main Entrance lobby for registration area framework

This month, forklifts will be on site to deliver materials. Please steer clear of all construction areas and equipment. Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation.

August 2023: As exterior work continues outside of the ambulance bay to build the trauma elevator, it is now time to begin interior construction. Beginning Monday, August 14, construction work in the 24^th Street Main Entrance lobby will begin. This work is expected to be completed in December.

During this time:

• The 24^th Street Main Entrance of Island Health will remain open; however, there is no access to the 24^th Street Building clinics (Island Surgeons, Island Primary Care-24^th Street, Island Eye Physicians & Surgeons, or Skidmore Pharmacy) from the lobby.
• Access to the 24^th Street Clinics will be through the 24^th Street building entrance only.
• Registration for outpatient laboratory services will take place in the lab.
• Registration for Diagnostic Imaging and Surgical Services will take place in Central Registration.

Wayfinding signs and a volunteer greeter will help direct patients and visitors to “follow the gulls” to the appropriate registration desks.

July 12, 2023: Groundbreaking Ceremony at  2 p.m. outside Emergency Department ambulance bay.

July 2023: The Wellman & Zuck construction team will begin mobilizing onto the Island Health main campus. Staff and patients will see Connex boxes located in and around the 25^th Street Building parking area, which will provide office space and equipment storage for the Wellman & Zuck construction team.

During July, construction will focus on beginning to build the elevator shaft and stairwell for the helipad. The elevator will be located by the ambulance bay outside of the Emergency Department.

• Civil excavation for the new elevator shaft and stairwell
• Digging for the foundation for elevator shaft and stairwell
• Concrete will be poured for elevator shaft and stairwell.