PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTRE FEASIBILITY STUDY
Through a Request for Proposal procurement process, the District has retained ThinkSpace Architecture, along with their supporting team, to complete a Feasibility Study for a Summerland Primary Health Care Centre.
Feasibility Study Objective
Building on the past work for the Summerland Community Recreation & Health Centre Needs Assessment, Community Engagement Summary and the Summerland Health Centre Business Case document, a team of Architects, Management Consultants, and Stakeholders collaborated with the District of Summerland in building a business case responding to the demonstrated need for increased primary care services and looking for adequate space for these service within the community. It is believed that this would attract and help recruit new providers to Summerland, address the shortage in primary care providers and improve access to care by offering a centralized team-based model of care.
Vision
The current vision is to create a 10,000 square foot space dedicated to primary health care delivery in Summerland with adequate room to be the medical home for all Summerland residents. A central location is desired for sixteen (16) family physicians or nurse practitioners providing team-based care with nurses and allied health professionals with space to accommodate visiting specialists and Interior Health specialized services. It is anticipated that there will be 4,000 unattached patients this year in Summerland. The current clinics do not have capacity to take on new patients and are limited in their ability to accommodate new provider recruits. Summerland requires an additional four new family physicians/nurse practitioners to meet the community’s current need.
Site Location Investigation
The team reviewed site locations and properties suitable for a Community Primary Health Centre. The team has been looking at both empty unused land for a new building as well as existing buildings which could be renovated. The team looked at District owned property as well as private property and inquired into potential partnerships. The team assessed the Primary Health Centre being co-located with the proposed new Recreation Centre however this has been recently ruled out as the Recreation Centre site at 8820 Jubilee Road (Arena site) is not large enough to include both facilities.
The consultants with support from Council, narrowed down site locations to 9600 Brown Street and 13609 Dickson Avenue. The consultants completed site design and costing for both locations and a site comparison for council's consideration.
Final Recommendations and Presentation
On the basis of the analysis conducted to date, the Dickson Avenue site is identified and recommended by the consultants as the preferred site for the Summerland Primary Health Care Centre as it satisfies the functional program, is located downtown, the site is available for redevelopment and it is the most affordable option.
For more information please see the SUMMERLAND PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTRE FEASIBILITY STUDY (2.45 MB PDF)
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