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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022
LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS.
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Hospital project breaks ground Lauren Vanderdeen
lvanderdeen@burnabynow.com
BREAKING GROUND:
Premier John Horgan, at right, and Health Minister Adrian Dix were among the crowd for a groundbreaking ceremony Monday to mark construction of the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment. Far right, Dr. Sarah Ostler (at left) discusses the project with Horgan. PHOTOS CORNELIA NAYLOR
Burnaby Hospital reached a new milestone on Monday (May 30) as construction began on its $1.4 billion redevelopment, with B.C. Premier John Horgan and Health Minister Adrian Dix on hand. The hospital, which turns 70 this year, has not been upgraded for more than 40 years. Horgan said despite the challenges of the past few years, Burnaby reflects a number of accomplishments. “In the past five years, we’ve had fires, we’ve had floods, we’ve had heat domes, atmospheric rivers, global pandemic,” Horgan said. “But through all of that, here in Burnaby, there has been resolve … that we would come out of this better and stronger than ever before.” By 2035, there will be an estimated 50 per cent increase in in-patients at the hospital and a 30 per cent increase in emergency department visits, Dix said. In the next 15 years, a 15-per-cent increase in the number of babies born at the hospital is expected. The new hospital facilities will include two patient-care towers with 399 beds by the end of the project, a larger emergency department and a new cancer treatment centre. Continued on page 4