Yellowknife’s old hospital reopens soon. Here’s what’s moving.

If you’re a regular user of health services in Yellowknife, a bunch of things are about to move locations.

The refurbished old hospital – replaced by a new one in 2019 – reopens in May as the Łıwegǫ̀atì Building.

If you don’t know how to speak Wılı̀ı̀deh yatı, here’s an audio clip provided by the NWT’s health authority of the word being pronounced.

Various services are set to move into the Łıwegǫ̀atì Building between May 24 and May 29, 2024, with opening day set for May 30.

Here’s a list of all the changes:

What’s moving into the Łıwegǫ̀atì Building in May?

The entirety of the Frame Lake clinic will move and be based in the Łıwegǫ̀atì Building, as will scheduled appointments that would previously have been handled at the downtown Yellowknife Primary Care Centre. (Same-day clinic appointments at the Yellowknife Primary Care Centre will stay downtown.)

Outpatient rehab services currently based at Centre Square Mall and the Stanton Medical Clinic are also moving into the Łıwegǫ̀atì Building.

What’s staying downtown?

According to the NWT’s health authority: “Same-day appointments, the diabetes clinic, any walk-in clinics, the outpatient lab and diagnostic imaging will continue to be available at the Yellowknife Primary Care Clinic site. Public Health and Home Care will also retain a presence downtown.”

What about extended care?

Extended care patients are set to begin moving from the new Stanton Territorial Hospital to the Łıwegǫ̀atì Building in June, the health authority says.

What about long-term care?

Long-term care isn’t currently offered anywhere in Yellowknife by the health authority, so it’s not moving so much as starting up. This service will “begin admissions in spring 2024 to assist those who are unable to live independently, require on-site nursing care or 24-hour supervision,” the health authority stated.

There’s no further information yet. Long-term care will be the last thing to open in the Łıwegǫ̀atì Building.

What to do between May 24 and May 29

If you’re the kind of person that invariably gets sick at the least convenient moments, you’ll be expecting to be unwell between May 24 and May 29, when many of these services are moving.

Should that occur, the health authority says you can still get a same-day appointment at the downtown Yellowknife Primary Care Centre during that week.

From May 30 onward, the health authority says all scheduled appointments will be at the Łıwegǫ̀atì Building.

Overall, the health authority says the reason for the move is to create a “campus of care around the Stanton Territorial Hospital site,” in theory making it easier to access services in one place.

“The Łıwegǫ̀atì Building will provide quality health services for our patients in one location to offer a campus of care for Yellowknife and increase its services to the Elders,” the health authority wrote.

“The co-location of services will provide an opportunity to review, revise, and refine processes that impact patient care and experience.”