A large crowd of patients, staff, members of the public, project officials, dignitaries and media gathered at Saskatchewan Hospital today for their first opportunity to see the progress made on construction of the new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford.

The community event was a highlight of The Battlefords celebration of National Mental Health Week May 2 -8, 2016.

"It's exciting to see the swift progress of construction on the new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford, a project that will truly enhance mental health services in our province," stated Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit in his remarks during the event program. "Mental Health Week provides an opportunity to acknowledge individuals and families who live with mental illness, as well as the significant efforts of those who work so tirelessly to provide high quality services to those affected."

Linda Shynkaruk, Director of Saskatchewan Hospital, told the audience the new facility is taking shape driven by the principles set out by the patients. "These principles include a connection to nature, and natural light in every patient room. The new hospital is being built with places to make music and art, space to congregate in small or large groups, places to share meals, to exercise, and places to learn practical skills that help patients manage in the outside world."

Shynkaruk added that for staff, "the new facility will mean improved organization to meet patient needs; better patient, staff and supply flow throughout the building; greater accessibility for individuals with mobility issues; a brighter work environment, modern furniture and equipment; more than one elevator and elevators that work; and no more traffic through the dingy depressing tunnels.

Patient representative Carmelle said 'The buzz about the new hospital has brought joy to all the patients, especially the ones in long term care. They need to recover and move forward in clean, bright and attractive settings." Carmelle expressed sincere thanks to all of the construction crews and development planners. She encouraged as many people as possible to "open their hearts and help in every way possible, making this dream a reality."

Matt Dekkers, Vice President of Graham Capital and Board member of Access Prairies Partnership (APP), the consortium of companies designing and building the new facility, said 'We're focused on delivering the (new) Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford on-time, on-budget and to continuing our long-term relationship with all our partners."

"This significant project has a 33-month construction schedule followed by a 20-year operating period. Construction began in September 2015 and is scheduled for completion by June 2018," Dekkers added.

Over the summer, Dekkers expects that concrete work for grade beams, foundation walls, pad footings, and elevator shafts will be complete, along with erection of the remaining 1,500 metric tonnes of steel. work will begin on exterior steel stud and drywall, masonry and metal panel façade, water and sewer utilities, and preparatory work for site roadways.

"The building will be enclosed by the end of the year," explained Dekkers, "and exterior façade, interior finishes, mechanical electrical, and IMIT work will continue into 2017."

Derek Miller, SHNB Project Lead for Prairie North Health Region, highlighted the extraordinary work that has gone into design and development of the facility. "Many stakeholders, including staff and patients, have worked tirel3essly to achieve a design for the hospital that puts the patient first.."

Miller added that, "Every effort has been made to engage staff and patients through dozens of user groups and dozens of sessions representing every area of the facility. the user groups were established to ensure we had the right experts at the table to provide input and feedback on the overall design and the design for their areas." Miller defined those 'experts' as the people who will actually be working and those who are being cared for on the units. "Most importantly, the user groups include patient representatives to ensure we stay true to our Patient First focus."

Miller expects that leading into the summer, all remaining aspects of the design will be finalized.

Following the program, everyone took the opportunity to make their way to the

Aerial View of New SHNB - April 2016 To take a thorough look at the complete aerial video, click here.

designated viewing area on the actual construction site for a first hand look at the progress to date.