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New hospital a go for Williams Lake, says B.C. Health Minister

B.C. Government announces it is moving ahead with Cariboo Memorial Hospital project
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Minister of Health Adrian Dix announced Friday that the government has kick started plans for a new and improved hospital in Williams Lake. Tara Sprickerhoff photo

The Cariboo Memorial Hospital project has been brought back to life.

That’s the message Minister of Health Adrian Dix delivered outside Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake Friday morning.

“I am here today to announce that the B.C. government has approved the concept plan and we’re moving the Cariboo Regional Hospital project forward to business plan stage,” Dix said. “The acceptance of the concept plan means the hospital is a go.”

Dix said having an upgraded hospital will improve health care in the region by offering single rooms for patients and ensure infection control is better, to name just a few of the many benefits.

“It will offer an element of privacy in our most difficult moments,” the minister said. “And (give) support for the workers who work here who have been dealing with an institution that is past its life.”

Read more: Cariboo Memorial Hospital renovation $100 million-plus project

Dix said once the business plan is approval, the project will be put out to tender, noting the announcement is the first of its kind for the new government and also a symbolic one, considering what the community has been through with the 2017 wildfires.

“What we are saying very clearly is that … we are here and this is going to be a thriving community 10 years from now and 20 years from now and 30 years from now and thriving communities need modern hospitals and that is what we are going to deliver in Williams Lake.”

Read More: Hospital master site plan released



Angie Mindus

About the Author: Angie Mindus

A desire to travel led me to a full-time photographer position at the Williams Lake Tribune in B.C.’s interior.
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