Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) is a

tertiary referral hospital A tertiary referral hospital (also called a tertiary hospital, tertiary referral center, tertiary care center, or tertiary center) is a hospital that provides tertiary care, which is a level of health care obtained from specialists in a large ho ...

located in Kelowna,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

operated by

Interior Health Interior Health is a regional health authority in British Columbia. It is one of the five publicly-funded regional health authorities, serving the southern Interior region of British Columbia. Facilities As of 2020 Interior Health operates ...

that offers medical care in the

Central Okanagan Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. In British Columbia, Kelowna General is the only hospital outside the Lower Mainland or

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

that performs

angioplasty Angioplasty, is also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), is a minimally invasive endovascular procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructed arteries or veins, typically to treat arterial atheroscle ...

cardiac surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to co ...

. It is one of the largest hospitals in Western Canada, with more than 700 beds.

History

Kelowna General Hospital originally opened on August 2, 1908, with 19 beds on the land that was donated by Kelowna Land & Orchard Company. This building remained until 1940 when a new hospital building was constructed. In 1969, the five-storey Strathcona building was constructed, followed by the five-storey Royal Building in 1992. Construction of the new six-storey Centennial Tower began in 2008, part of an $800 million capital investment in health care for the Central and North Okanagan since 2007. It was completed on May 27, 2012.

2007 hospital expansion

Plans to expand Kelowna General Hospital were approved in 2007 to support growing population in the region. *Various facilities upgrade and modernization *34,000 square foot Clinical Academic Campus Building, affiliated with the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

Medical School. *Six-storey Centennial Patient Care Tower with new rooftop helipad and emergency department is now complete. *Three-storey East Pandosy Clinical Support Building *The main floor of the Royal Building, including the main lobby, the old Emergency Department, the old Ambulatory Care Centre, and the Patient Registration area, was converted into a new Cardiac Catheterization Lab. The renovations were finished in 2017.

Interior Heart and Surgical Centre

The 72-year-old Pandosy Building was demolished in the summer of 2012 to make way for a cardiac clinic. Construction began in the summer of 2012 and opened for patient care on September 28, 2015. The 4th floor where a new perinatal (maternity) unit is housed opened in March 2016. The 139,590 square feet Interior Heart and Surgical Centre (IHSC) was officially opened in mid-2015. With 15 operating rooms, it is now allowing heart surgeries to take place in the interior of BC for the first time. It is the province's fifth cardiac critical care center.Interior Heart and Surgical Centre
/ref>

References

{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1908 Hospital buildings completed in 1940 Hospital buildings completed in 1969 Buildings and structures in Kelowna University of British Columbia Heliports in Canada Hospitals in the Okanagan Certified airports in British Columbia 1908 establishments in British Columbia