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Expanding healthcare.
Situated along the Yukon River, the Whitehorse General Hospital is the main acute care facility servicing the entire Yukon Territory. The expansion to Whitehorse General Hospital includes an entirely new emergency department with a new diagnostic imaging department, a CT scanner, and a new intensive care unit. The emergency department consist of a new ambulance drop-off garage along with a decontamination suite. The addition houses the new main data centre for the Yukon Health Corporation, including full emergency power generation systems to support the data centre and expansion.
Additionally, large shell space was included in the project, intended for future program space. The site development work required major re-work of the site access and parking, including relocating underground services, realignment of the access roads, and replacement of lost parking areas. The area of the expansion is approximately 50,000 square feet.
Expanding healthcare.
Situated along the Yukon River, the Whitehorse General Hospital is the main acute care facility servicing the entire Yukon Territory. The expansion to Whitehorse General Hospital includes an entirely new emergency department with a new diagnostic imaging department, a CT scanner, and a new intensive care unit. The emergency department consist of a new ambulance drop-off garage along with a decontamination suite. The addition houses the new main data centre for the Yukon Health Corporation, including full emergency power generation systems to support the data centre and expansion.
Additionally, large shell space was included in the project, intended for future program space. The site development work required major re-work of the site access and parking, including relocating underground services, realignment of the access roads, and replacement of lost parking areas. The area of the expansion is approximately 50,000 square feet.
In case of emergency.
In order to accommodate the expansion, the project included a new emergency medical services (EMS) building for the Whitehorse Ambulance Service. The EMS building consists of an ambulance garage, office areas, crew areas, storage and training rooms, communications / dispatch suite, communications LAN room, mechanical / electrical rooms and emergency power generation systems to support the building as well as infrastructure to support the radio and other communication needs of the facility. The overall EMS building area is over 5,000 square feet.
As a result of electrical capacity issues with the existing facility, both the EMS building and the expansion required new electrical services. To accommodate this, placement was located for a new hydro transformer and outside generator, taking into consideration the unconventional locations available on the site. There is a redundant power system via a double-ended switchboard, as well as a redundant uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system to support the hospital in the event of a power loss. LED lights have been installed in all public and common areas.
A new, Tier III data centre.
Telecommunication systems feature a fully-redundant Information Technology (IT) network comprising a high-speed fiber-optic and copper cabling, as well as modern core and edge data switches. This network provides a communications platform for the hospital’s corporate and administrative Internet Protocol (IP) data and telephone services. The physical network also supports virtually separated critical clinical and building systems (e.g., Nurse Call, real-time locating systems, video surveillance). The network is firewall protected between the two virtual environments to allow for secure transfer of information and resources while maintaining IT security and integrity of the systems. The entire IT network is located within the new Tier III data centre, which hosts all of the critical main and redundant servers, storage area network, and patching for the entire YHC network.
Integrated systems were designed to provide safety and security for all hospital users and to promote the protection of assets. Turnkey systems, including Nurse Call, access control, closed-circuit television (CCTV), real-time locating systems (RTLS) and intrusion detection, have been implemented, including expanding and upgrading some of the current systems. All systems are integrated, ensuring consolidated functions to facilitate efficiency, alarm verification, and automation. The design of patient wandering and duress alarm systems allows staff and patients to interact in a secure environment. Employing best practices and proven technology in a joint manner ensured that the project’s design met the hospital’s expectations, while also satisfying the required functionalities.
