The patients and doctors of an entire hospital were moved to a new location in a single day in the Fraser Valley, as the brand new Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre opened its doors.
Dr. Dave Williams, medical director at the new facility in Abbotsford, B.C., had waited decades for the move.
"To see the first patients arrive was phenomenal," he told CTV British Columbia. "I have been waiting 20 years for this, so this has been a dream that simply became a reality."
The first patient to pass through the doors of ARH was also the last one to be born at the old MSA General Hospital.
Brianna Mikula was scheduled to be delivered by C section at the new facility on Tuesday. But fate intervened Sunday and the parents had to rush to MSA.
"Nature called, so we had to run to the old hospital," said Brianna's father, Istvan Mikula.
Hours later, Brianna was placed in the first ambulance in a convoy that brought all 121 patients to the new location.
"There was a lot of excitement going on in the old hospital," a patient who gave her name as Sandy told CTV British Columbia. "It was kind of like leaving the old and coming into the new."
She was one of the first patients to be accommodated at one of 300 beds at ARH, and said it was a definite improvement from the old location.
"Certainly a lot more privacy," she said. "Instead of four to a room, it's two to a room."
The massive operation involved more than 100 staff members.
"(They were) working as lift teams, porters, and as transport nurses to help move the patients from MSA to ARH," said spokesperson Tracy Irwin.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson
