A hospital originally scheduled to open in 2014 will open Dec. 1, 2019, the province announced Tuesday, a date that falls more than eight years after ground broke on its construction.

The 388,500-square-foot HSC Winnipeg Women’s Hospital at 665 William Ave. will house the obstetrical, surgical and medical services currently offered at the hospital at 735 Notre Dame Ave. It will also be home to a neonatal intensive care unit that amalgamates three separate NICU units currently located in separate places on the Health Sciences Centre campus.

In spite of the lengthy delay in the new hospital’s completion, caused in part by a collapse of shoring in 2012 and a fire in 2013, the province said the hospital building stayed on budget with a cost of $232.9 million. 

“Enormous work has gone into the preparation of being able to commence services,” said Health Minister Cameron Friesen.

“Obviously between now and then, an enormous amount of work has to continue to get staff comfortable in this space, to start up equipment, and to make sure that it’s functioning and that it’s calibrated correctly.”

The province said about half of the babies born in Winnipeg are born at HSC.

Lynda Tjaden, director of patient services, Women’s Health, said the new hospital has significant improvements for families giving birth.

“Patients will often tell us they appreciate the care they get, but they don’t enjoy the physical environment, they would like more privacy,” she said, referring to the current hospital’s triage space, which is partitioned with curtains. She said the new triage area will have separate rooms for patients to consult with health-care providers. “So this is going to be a much better environment for them.”

Monika Warren, program director, Children’s Hospital, said the new NICU unit will help them overcome challenges with their current operation.

“The location in the current women’s hospital is a kilometre away from our sickest NICU location. So if a baby is born that requires that intensity of service, the team needs to transfer that baby via tunnel for that distance,” she said, noting moms also have to travel from a postpartum unit to visit their infants. 

“The cool thing about the changes with this new hospital is that all of those three locations will become one,” she said. 

Warren said the new unit has also been designed to allow for families to spend as much time as possible with the infant being cared for.

“We’re really trying to shift our model of care from parents being the visitor in the NICU to being central to our care team,” she said. 

Ronan Segrave, interim chief operating officer, HSC Winnipeg, said the hospital’s current location at 375 Notre Dame Ave. will be repurposed, but how has yet to be determined. He said a provincial clinical services plan that’s under development will help determine the facility’s future. 

“We know the former space is sound structurally,” said Friesen. “But it needs a lot of TLC.”

- With files from CTV's Michelle Gerwing.