Jun 01, 2026 – Hannah Link/North Shore News

The new Quw’utsun Valley Hospital reached 90 per cent completion this week as medical equipment was installed in the $1.445-billion facility.

Construction is set to finish by the end of this year, when Island Health operations teams will take over to prepare the site.

Patients are expected to move into the new hospital by late next spring, said Westley Davidson, chief project officer for the hospital replacement.

He said commissioning the new space after the keys are handed over involves training staff onsite and ensuring all systems are running smoothly.

The hospital is three times larger than the existing Cowichan District Hospital, built in 1967 when the region’s population was just under 39,000.

In 2021, the census population of the Cowichan Valley Regional District had jumped to about 89,000 — all of whom will benefit from the nearly 60,000 square-metre space, Davidson said.

Quw’utsun Valley Hospital will have the capacity for 204 beds, while the old facility, which will no longer be used as a hospital, has 148.

Bowinn Ma, minister of ­infrastructure, said she’s excited that the project is the first ­fully-electric hospital in the province.

Ma said the building will be able to operate in post-disaster situations and is a desperately needed addition to the health-care system on the Island.

“It will provide services to this community that they deserve and will be able to serve people across the region for generations.”

Read the full article at nsnews.com.