The Fraser-Fort George Regional Hospital District shares in the capital funding for health facilities and medical equipment within the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George. This includes the principal health facilities operated by the Northern Health Authority:
- University Hospital of Northern British Columbia
- Mackenzie and District Hospital and Health Centre
- McBride and District Hospital
- Valemount Health Centre
All members of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George Board of Directors serve as Regional Hospital District Directors, and the Chair is Joan Atkinson and the Vice Chair is Kyle Sampson.
Find Regional Hospital District budgets, financial statements and long term plans
Infrastructure funding for UHNBC patient care tower
In September 2024 the Regional Hospital District Board of Directors approved $318,712,000 in funding for a new patient care tower at UHNBC.
Background on regional hospital districts and the UHNBC project
Regional hospital districts are designated under provincial law to raise capital funds for hospital facilities to help fund the capital costs to construct, acquire and maintain hospital facilities and major equipment. Regional hospital districts have the flexibility to use annual operating budgets, reserves or borrowing through the Municipal Finance Authority to fund these projects. Regional hospital districts are different from local governments because they can borrow funds for capital investments without requiring elector approval.
Funding healthcare projects
Regional health authorities, like the Northern Health Authority carry out the financial planning and budgeting for capital investments in healthcare facilities. Typically, regional hospital districts cover up to 40% of the capital costs and the remaining 60% is provided by the health authority through:
- provincial funding for specific capital projects
- health authority operational budgets
- contributions from healthcare foundations or community service clubs
Although health authorities are not required to include regional hospital districts in their capital planning, there is a Memorandum of Understanding for Northern Health to consult with and update the Northern BC regional hospital districts on capital plans in bi-annual meetings.
Paying for projects
Funding for hospital expansions and improvements comes from various sources:
- Provincial government allocates funds through specific capital projects and operational budgets
- regional hospital districts contribute up to 40% of the capital costs through direct contributions from operating budgets, reserves or borrowing
- health authorities contribute through their operational budgets and partnerships with third parties like health care foundations and community groups
Impacts to property taxes from the UHNBC project
The Fraser-Fort George Regional Hospital District creates 15 year long-term financial plans. Funds have accumulated for the UHNBC expansion, and other infrastructure projects, for the past 10 years. The capital reserve fund balance was $73.4 million (July 2024). Additional funding will come from property taxes, borrowing and investment income and the increase to property taxes is expected to be under 3% over the term of borrowing.
Improving patient care
The existing UHNBC facility, built in 1958 with additions in 1978 and 2003, no longer meets the needs of the growing region. The population of Prince George alone has increased by more than 400% since the 1961 Census. The healthcare facility capacity has not kept up to population growth. The planned expansion will:
- increase bed capacity with more than double the number of beds, addressing critical needs in surgical, mental-health and cardiac services
- enhance cardiac care by bringing invasive cardiac care to Northern BC and centralize cardiac services in a new 11-storey acute-care tower with specialized units
- expand surgical facilities with 47 new beds and increase operating rooms from seven to 12
- improve mental health services with more treatment beds and the addition of specialized units for youth and adult psychiatric care
The expansion will provide better-coordinated patient care and address gaps in current healthcare services for residents in the Regional District and across Northern BC.