Langley Memorial Hospital is putting together the case for a significant expansion, but won’t know until sometime after this fall if it will receive provincial funding.
A Fraser Health spokesperson confirmed that planning is underway for expansion of the emergency department from 870 square metres to about 2,000 square metres.
A plan will be submitted to the Ministry of Health by the end of the year. If accepted, the construction will be planned out in 2017, with an estimated completion date of 2019 or 2020.
The expanded emergency ward would be adequate for the projected population growth of Langley to the year 2025.
The Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation is watching over the project.
If it is approved and officially announced, the foundation will be asked to help with fundraising, said LMHF executive director Vivian Smith.
The entire project is contingent on approval from Victoria.
If approved, it will be the first major expansion of Langley Memorial since an upgrade to the maternity wing that finished in 2014.
Fraser Health did not officially announce the project. Langley Township Councillor Charlie Fox mentioned it at Monday night's council meeting, while he was speaking about hospital capacity in the context of population growth in Brookswood.