Interior Health is looking at potentially consolidating many of its services on the south side of Kamloops into the same facility.
They’ve issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) with the plan to house Home and Community Care, Mental Health and Substance Use, Primary Health Care, Chronic Disease Management, Public Health, Community Ambulatory Care, as well as “various corporate departments” in the same space.
“The centralized site will support synergies among programs, improve client access, enhance service delivery, and provide an affordable long-term solution,” the RFQ went on to say. “The purpose of this request for qualifications is to determine if there are interested and qualified parties able to provide the leased space required in Kamloops.”
The posting also specified the need for between 60,000 and 75,000 square feet of space – specifically on the South Shore.
“There are currently 15 leased spaces on the South Shore of Kamloops where Interior Health community programs and corporate services staff work so we know the approximate size of a building that we would need to accommodate staff from those areas,” said IH spokesperson Kevin Parnell, in a written statement.
“This project would involve relocating existing staff that currently work on the South Shore of Kamloops into one purpose designed space. whether that space is a new or existing building won’t be known until we hear back from the Kamloops building community in the RFQ process.”
He says this project has to be on the South Shore, as services on the North Shore have already gone through a similar consolidation.
“The consolidation of services is part of an ongoing plan to ensure our facilities meet the needs of our clients,” Parnell added. “Whether we renew existing buildings, move to alternate buildings or consolidate programs is something we look at in all our communities to ensure we can continue to serve clients into the future.”
No timelines were available, but Parnell says the proposal will only go forward depending on the response to the RFQ.
