Hospital concrete all poured, interior framing started, and clinical team confirms layout of equipment

Everything is on schedule for the new hospital construction project in Portage la Prairie, despite some cold, albeit expected, weather. 

Implementation lead Kyle MacNair says they're on a long trajectory and these cold issues slowing production is a minor thing. 

"One of the main accomplishments as of this week is that all of the concrete slabs are poured for the entire hospital," says MacNair. "That's all the concretes in on both levels and they're making good progress on the ceiling deck on most of the facility now. All of those orange tarp sections are where the concrete is curing and the final pours. Then they're doing the more permanent cladding -- the green material that's not, obviously, what it's going to look like in the end, but it's just the first layers of sealing-up sections of the facility as we get to start on the interiors."

However, MacNair explains interior framing has already started on a couple of the areas. The interior framing isn't the final finish. 

"It's the steel studs in the wall, and then where the plugs are, where the lights are, where the data ports are, the clock connections, and the headwall connections. We've looked at, basically, two areas now. We've seen some inpatient spaces -- some of the room spaces and then an O.R. area. We bring the clinical team in and take a look at this and make sure everything looks and everything is setting up the way they want it. Imagine a computer terminal here. Is this the right place? Do you have the right sight lines, and the things you need to know or to do. The O.R. also required information for where the patient will be sitting, and the surgeon is going to be here, and the anaesthetist is here. Can they see all the things that they need to see in the room?"

He says cameras will be on booms in the room, and projection TVs on the walls. MacNair adds that's the point they're currently at. It's all part of confirming interior features and several check-in points.

"We're going to see a medication room later on in March, and we're going to see what's called Soiled Utility. It's the place where we put things that need to get cleaned. We're going to see Soiled Utility later on in March. Over the course of the next several months, we're going to see probably a dozen different areas to make sure everything is lined up right, is in the right position, and we're happy with it."

MacNair explains that spray fireproofing is underway, as well. All of this is part of the building's safety aspects. 

"There's quite a bit of work to do that spray fireproofing around between the levels, and is work that takes a lot of time to spray all that onto the interior surfaces," continues MacNair.

Reflecting back on the build being in the top 100 Canadian construction projects makes MacNair feel appreciated, considering he is the implementation lead. He notes it's exciting and maybe a little daunting, but it's good that there is the recognition that that facility in rural Manitoba is getting a fairly significant investment in its healthcare service needs. 

"We're at kind of, from a construction point of view, making really good progress," adds MacNair. "We're making it through some of the hiccups and just going to keep on going in terms of moving each piece forward over the next several months. We just had a meeting Thursday, which is our two-week look ahead, and looked at what spaces are going to get roughed-in over the next little while. The structure is pretty much up now." 

Shovels first went into the ground early last year.