First phase of KBRH parking upgrades complete as MRI expansion continues
The northwest parking area at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail reopened Sept. 1 after the first phase of parking improvements was completed.
Photo: Interior Health
The first phase of parking upgrades at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail has been completed, reopening part of the hospital site while construction continues on a new permanent MRI suite.
Interior Health says work on the northwest parking area was finished by Aug. 31 and the upgraded lot reopened Sept. 1. The work included paving, grading and infrastructure improvements.
A temporary staff parking arrangement at J. Lloyd Crowe Secondary School has now ended, although downtown staff parking and shuttle service will continue while construction remains underway at the hospital.
The parking project is being completed in two phases as part of the broader $35.86-million MRI expansion at KBRH. A second phase of parking work is planned for summer 2027.
Once the project is complete, Interior Health expects the number of parking stalls at the hospital to increase from 336 to 374. The parking work also includes drainage improvements, lighting and security upgrades, grading and infrastructure that could support future electric-vehicle charging stalls.
Some parking spaces may continue to be temporarily unavailable during construction, although Interior Health says the total number of accessible parking stalls will remain unchanged even if their locations shift.
Construction on the MRI expansion began Feb. 2. The new permanent suite will replace KBRH’s current mobile MRI unit and will include a 1.5-tesla scanner.
Interior Health expects the hospital’s annual MRI capacity to increase from about 4,400 scans to as many as 7,000 once the new suite is operational. The province has also said the permanent suite will allow KBRH to accommodate more complex-care exams, while the current mobile trailer limits services for monitored, bariatric and sedated patients.
The new equipment is also expected to reduce the time required for some examinations. The province has said some chest MRI scans could fall from about 90 minutes to 45 minutes.
KBRH serves patients from across the Kootenay Boundary region and provides regional oncology, trauma and stroke services.
The $35.86-million project will be funded by the provincial government through Interior Health, the West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital District and the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Health Foundation.
MRI services are continuing during construction after the mobile MRI unit was relocated to the west side of the hospital earlier this year.
Interior Health says the new permanent MRI suite is expected to begin serving patients in 2028.
A B.C. Supreme Court judgment involving Canadians who studied medicine abroad was posted last week as the province continues to require international medical graduates in its Kootenay Boundary family medicine residency stream to complete two years of service within Interior Health.