Three qualified proponents have been shortlisted to participate in the next stage of the competitive selection process to develop a new patient care tower at Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH) in British Columbia, Canada.

Six teams responded to the request for qualifications (RFQ), but finally three teams have been shortlisted:

• Ellis Don Infrastructure,
• Plenary Health, and
• Tandem Health Partners

The RFP is expected to be released to the short-listed proponents in February 2015.

The project includes two phases:

• Phase one is construction of the new patient care tower which will include an ambulatory care centre, surgical services centre, 84 medical/surgical inpatient beds in single patient rooms, a new medical device reprocessing unit, and space for the UBC Faculty of  Medicine program. The tower will be approximately 26,700 square metres (287,500 square feet).

• Phase two involves the renovation of vacated areas in the current hospital, including increasing the size of the emergency department to nearly four times its current size.

The project will be developed on a design, build, finance, and maintain (DBFM) basis.

The total budget for the project is CAD$325 million. It will be funded jointly by the provincial government, with CAD$122 million provided by the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional Hospital District and CAD$20 million provided by the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation.

It is anticipated construction will start in 2016, and the new patient care tower would open in 2019.