It’s a dream in the making for Nadia Vrtacic. As a nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital for the past 10 years, she’s eagerly waited to see the new St. Paul’s Hospital come to life – and now it’s becoming a reality.
“I’m very excited to see all the features of the new surgical suites that will be provided; technology has advanced and that is reflected in these rooms,” says Nadia, Clinical Nurse Educator in the Operating Room. “I think patients will be impressed with the space, like rooms having windows, and space for not only the patient but for their family and belongings.”
Over the past month, the New St. Paul’s Project Team opened the doors for all staff to visit a warehouse, blocks away from the future hospital campus in the False Creek Flats. Almost 100 staff and clinicians came to tour life-sized mock-ups of the new hospital. These mock rooms feature real walls, floors and doors, and even some of the equipment and technology staff will use in the new hospital.
“I got involved with the new St. Paul’s project at the very beginning,” says Ramses Prado, Performance Improvement Consultant with the Quality Improvement, Patient Safety and Accreditation Department. “We started doing mock-ups, just on the floor, for some of the units so it’s nice to see how that work has translated into actual spaces. It’s impressive to see all the changes happening in the new hospital.”
For many, these in-person tours are their first chance to see what’s in store for patients – and themselves – when the new hospital opens in 2027.
“The sense I get is it’s really patient and family friendly,” says Ann Gibbon, who works in Communications. “I think it’s much more intuitive. Everything’s well thought out in terms of sight lines for staff into rooms. It seems like there will be a lot less moving about of staff to get meds or equipment. It’s much more efficient.”
Mock rooms an essential tool
Since design on the new hospital first began in 2018, the New St. Paul’s Hospital Project Team has used various ways to show what hospital spaces will look like. From artistic concepts to paper floorplans to cardboard rooms, and even virtual reality, the team has strived to get the final design details right.
“It’s hard to beat the value of having full-sized mock-ups and experiencing the size and scale of our new rooms,” says Tanya Campbell, director of project delivery. “These mock rooms provide a valuable opportunity for staff to see what’s planned and provide input into how teams will work in their future spaces.
Construction of the new St. Paul’s Hospital is expected to complete in 2026, with staff training to follow. The hospital is set to open to patients in early 2027.
What are mock rooms? They’re life-size model mock-ups of key spaces in the new St. Paul’s Hospital. They are used to fine-tune designs and catch any issues before the hospital is built. Designs are subject to change. Want to watch more mock room tours? Click here.
Story by Justine Ma, New St. Paul’s Hospital Project
