The Phil & Jennie Gaglardi Tower officially opened on Monday (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

PHIL & JENNIE GAGLARDI TOWER

Phil & Jennie Gaglardi Tower officially opens amid questions about staffing

Jul 18, 2022 | 2:56 PM

KAMLOOPS — It was a big day at Royal Inland Hospital on Monday (July 18). After years of planning, preparation and construction, the new Phil and Jennie Gaglardi Tower officially opened to the public.

Staff spent Sunday moving patients to the new tower, who say they like the bigger space.

On opening day, B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix got to speak with staff inside the $417 million building.

Questions about staffing levels at the new tower remain — and Dix is well aware of the challenges — but says the province and Interior Health have been active in recruiting.

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“We’ve been hiring an exceptional amount of staff. That itself creates some challenges because we’re operating this hospital at full blast,” said Dix on Monday. “It’s a major hospital in our province. We’re adding significant numbers of staff and they’ve got to get trained and up to speed on the workings of the place, and that can put pressure on existing staff as well.”

According to Interior Health, there are 283 full-time and part-time job postings for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and care aides — accounting for a 28 per cent vacancy rate.

Staff, while still challenged by lower numbers, say the transition to the new tower was smooth and they like the bigger space. Interior Health President & CEO Susan Brown says it will make the staff and patient experience better.

“We know having people that can see outside, be oriented to time of day, it just helps with their healing and the whole environment will provide that. Better work environment for our staff, as well as better healing environment for those we are hearing from.”

Terry Frances was the first patient to be moved over to the new tower on Sunday. Frances has a long recovery after being run over by a chipper truck while on his motorbike in Williams Lake and says being in the new tower will make a difference.

“Yeah because it’s more organized. They have better call buttons, so if you need anything you just hit one button and you get water, hit another button and they take you to the bathroom, hit another button they give you your medication,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Brown says Interior Health is listening to staff to see what could make their work environment better. The health authority is also looking at more parking passes for staff and working on a deal with a daycare to provide up to 100 spaces for staff.

“We’re doing a number of different things to ensure we’re able to retain those we have, making it easier for them to park when they come to work. It sounds trivial, but it’s not. Taking that burden away may make people pick up more shifts.”

However, the province know it’s a more complex issue than that and committed funding on Monday to help the situation. Dix announced $6.7 million for three additional operating rooms to open next year and nearly $3 million for more staff in the intensive care unit, emergency department and hospitalist program at RIH.

“The committment here to the highest level of working conditions in terms of a new building, a new tower, new operating rooms. Going from nine operating rooms to 13 operating rooms, which is effectively we’re doing with the addition of the three today,” he said. “This is what people want to see and want to hear. We’ve met this challenge repeatedly and we’ll meet it here.”