The Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach will get a multi-million dollar upgrade of its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. In making the announcement, Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen says it's a key upgrade for the facility, to improve the regulation of the temperatures in the building.

"There are parts of that building where that's been a problem, maintaining the right temperature within the facility which, of course, can be an issue for those who are in the facility but particularly for the operating rooms. That's been a problem in terms of keeping them functioning in the summer because of high humidity."

Goertzen says a tender will soon be issued for a construction manager who will then solicit bids for various aspects of the work. He adds the work will take some time to complete because it is complicated.

"Particularly because this is a very large project, it'll be in the multi-millions of dollars I suspect by the time that it's complete. And, you are dealing with different segments of the hospital and when you're going through the changes, the hospital has to keep functioning in a proper way. So there will be a project manager that will be hired and then they will time out the different phases of it."

Goertzen expects the upgrades will be fully operational by 2020. In February, the Minister announced the health centre's roof would be replaced, a project that is currently underway. He says this demonstrates the provinces commitment to the facility.

"Bethesda, being a regional health centre, is a key health priority for the entire southeast. But it is an older facility. There have been lots of additions that have happened since it was originally built and with any older facility, it's important that it is maintained properly. This is a significant project, it's a long-term project. It will probably be phased in over a couple of years because of the scope and the cost of it. But I'm pleased that it's moving ahead."