Taking a community-first approach
Renowned for its red-sand beaches, fertile farmland and world-class seafood, Prince Edward Island (PEI) takes pride in its rich and diverse culture. When it comes to healthcare, the province takes a community-first approach to ensure all residents have an equal opportunity to achieve and maintain mental health and well-being over their lifetime.
The Department of Health and Wellness is working alongside healthcare providers to improve its approach to health and wellness continuously. Part of this initiative includes providing more meaningful, accessible and timely mental health and addictions care.
The Mental Health and Addictions Capital Redevelopment Project embodies PEI’s values and is designed to honour local Mi’kmaq culture and history. Grounded in the community-first model, the project nurtures an integrated continuum of services, an interdisciplinary care delivery model across providers, and supporting technologies. It’s also optimally designed to enable close-to-home care at the right time, by the right providers.
The project involves expanding the existing Hillsborough Hospital & Special Care Centre site to become a Mental Health and Addictions Campus that includes four new specialized care assets:
- An Addictions Extended Care Facility for Women
- A Mental Health Structured Programming Facility
- A Mental Health and Addictions Wellness and Transition Centre
- A Mental Health and Addictions Acute Care Facility and Life Skills Centre
Two additional Mental Health and Addictions assets are also being added to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, PEI’s largest hospital:
- A Mental Health and Addictions Child and Youth Acute Care Unit
- A Mental Health and Addictions Emergency and Short Stay Unit
Quick Facts
PEI’s Mental Health and Addictions Capital Redevelopment Project embodies the province’s community-first approach to healthcare.
The redevelopment project will incorporate four new care facilities to create a comprehensive Mental Health and Addictions Campus, with an additional two facilities at the QEH, PEI’s largest hospital.
This is a generational project for PEI’s community. The project team is making a conscious effort to deliver the project with as many local resources as possible.
Showcasing local talent
The province engaged our local Colliers Project Leaders team to manage the development of all six facilities and to provide Operational Readiness services for its Addictions Extended Care Facility for Women and its Mental Health Structured Programming Facility.
With several new buildings under construction simultaneously, this project requires careful logistical planning to ensure each facility hits its respective milestones and objectives. The province brought in our team to support the project in 2021 and to help navigate the challenges and aftereffects of the pandemic, including shortages in the labour market and supply chain. We completed a workplace strategy report in 2022 to better understand the current and future needs of the organization and identified potential space efficiencies. The results of this report helped to inform the design process for the Mental Health and Addictions Acute Care Facility and Life Skills Centre.
“The PMO considers Colliers Project Leaders to be part of our team, and I feel that integration has occurred seamlessly. It was a good business decision to bring the Colliers Project Leaders team onto the Mental Health and Addictions Redevelopment Project.”
The province is intentionally and proudly delivering this project with as many local resources as possible. Our PEI team supported the procurement of local contractors, consultants and materials wherever possible, understanding the positive impact this project will have on Islanders.
The Mental Health and Addictions Emergency Department and Short Stay Unit opened its 24/7 emergency and crisis care services on February 27, 2024. The Addictions Extended Care Facility for Women and the Mental Health Structured Programming Facility are also operational.
With so many new facilities under construction on the same campus as the existing, operational hospital and special care centre, our team is working closely with the province and hospital to ensure staff’s ability to provide uninterrupted healthcare services to the community. Construction of the Wellness and Transition Centre and the Acute Care Facility and Life Skills Centre began this fall, while construction for the Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions Acute Care Unit is expected to begin in 2025.
