The demolition of Mount St. Francis hospital in Nelson is underway.
An Interior Health spokesperson told the Nelson Star that the building would be torn down over approximately six months before a new long-term seniors care facility is built. Work has also begun on collecting items within the hospital that have heritage value.
Mount St. Francis, located in Nelson’s Fairview neighbourhood, was built in the 1940s but has sat empty since 2005.
When a new facility was announced for the location in July 2020, former Nelson-Creston MLA Michelle Mungall was adamant that Mount St. Francis could not be repurposed to meet modern health care standards.
Interior Health said it is currently in negotiations with a preferred proponent for the new Nelson Health Campus, which will provide physical and mental health services as well as a childcare centre. There’s no timeline yet for its construction.
Mount St. Francis was run by The Sisters of St. Ann until 1996. It was then sold to the Nelson and Area Health Council, which Interior Health later absorbed.
Interior Health shut it down in 2005, the same year Mountain Lake Seniors Community opened on an adjacent property.
READ MORE:
• New seniors care facility in Nelson to be built at Mount St. Francis site
• Mount St. Francis: what’s the plan?
@tyler_harper | tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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