The move to Moose Jaw's Dr. F.H. Wigmore regional hospital is underway. 

Support services at the Moose Jaw Union Hospital (MJUH) began the transfer Sunday, and Kyle Matthies, VP of corporate strategy and communications with the Five Hills health region, says areas like pharmacy and housekeeping move October 19, setting up the rest of the week.

"Tuesday morning (October 20), our emergency room will open at the new hospital at 7:30 and following that patients will start to move over......by the end of Wednesday, all of our patients will be over at the new hospital," Matthies explained. "The rest of the week will just be cleaning up odds and ends...everything should be wrapped up Friday."

Matthies says that if you do have an emergency situation, you can visit the MJUH ER right up until 7:30 Tuesday morning.

As for coordinating the patient move, Matthies says it will be "a combination of moving them over by ambulance...a HandiBus if that fits the patient's needs, and there will be a number of families that will move their family member as well.  (It's) entirely dependent on patient safety and what environment will most safely move the patient."

Matthies added that they are fully prepared for any women who go into labour over the course of the next couple of days, explaining that "labour and delivery staff are communicating with those individuals who are expecting, but in the overlapping move there will be a team at both locations so that our bases are covered."

Matthies says that even though the new Wigmore hospital is completely patient-ready, there are a few "finishing details still happening" (paint, trim, etc.), and there will still be some construction workers in the building for the next few weeks.

However, Matthies is quick to add "anything related to patient safety is well looked after".

For more details on how the hospital move may affect you, click here.