As the Ministry of Health moves on the next steps for construction of the Dawson Creek Hospital, Northern Lights College looks forward to the potential partnerships that will come with completion.
BC Health Minister Adrian Dix was on campus grounds Monday afternoon to announce the contractor chosen and that the province was moving ahead with the project.
Minister Dix said after the announcement that the province appreciates NLC’s support of the new hospital, and that there’s a need for connecting the training NLC provides with the careers Northern Health provides.
“It’s about people. If you want to do things, you need people, so having training connected directly to the hospital on this campus, I think we’ll see an expansion of those programs. That’s something we want to work with Northern Lights [College] on,” he said.
NLC’s health sciences programs, which includes Health Care Assistant and Practical Nursing, helps train BC’s future health care workforce. Having the new hospital on campus property could be beneficial to both Northern Health and NLC.
“Northern Lights College health sciences department is very excited that the new Dawson Creek Hospital build is moving forward,” says Nicole Dahlen, Associate Dean, Academics and Vocational Programs. “The Dawson Creek hospital is one of two sites that offer acute care practicum placements for our health science students. We consider our partnership with the Dawson Creek Hospital, and Northern Health Authority, vital as we continue to graduate new nurses that go on to work in Northern Health.”