Alberta commits $810M over 3 years as Red Deer hospital expansion planning continues

The promise of hundreds of millions more in funding for Red Deer's long-awaited hospital expansion, included in Alberta's recent budget,is being greeted with relief and renewed calls for a plan to address the immediate pressures facing the beleaguered facility.

The hospital, which serves nearly half a million central Albertans, has been plagued by bed and staffing shortages for years. Doctors have been raising concerns about a lack of funding and the absence of specialized health services, such as a cardiac catheterization lab.

The Alberta government announceda $1.8-billion expansion two years ago, and while planning is underway, shovels have yet to go into the ground.

Alberta's budget, tabled last Thursday,allocates more than $810 millionover three yearsfor the redevelopment of the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre, including an estimated $151 million this year, $316 millionfor 2025-26 and $343 millionfor 2026-27.

Last year's capital plan allocated $321 million over three years, including an estimated $21 millionfor 2023-24.

"It's absolutely a huge relief," said Dr. Keith Wolstenholme, a Red Deer orthopedic surgeon.

"We're finally seeing some really significant numbers. One of the things we've been saying since the announcement is, 'we better start getting some big numbers per year.' Of course, that means that actual work is being done, hopefully moving from planning to actually building it."

He was worried after the province put plans on hold for a new south Edmonton hospital.

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"I think it's super positive for central Albertans and the people of Red Deer that the project seems to be on path and on course," said Wolstenholme.

Vesna Higham, Red Deer city councillor and deputy mayor,is also pleased with the capital funding plan.

"To us that's good news because it means that the hospital project is progressing. It's advancing. It's basically on track." she said in an interview on Friday.

The city has been pushing hard for the expansion and it's now looking for more details and a firm schedule.

"I wish we did have a firmer timeline in terms of when shovels will be in the ground."

According to the province, the expansion is still set to include 200 more beds (bringing the total to 570), three new operating rooms and a cardiac catheterization lab, which will allow heart attack patients to receive life-saving treatment closer to home.

In a statement emailed to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Alberta government said the project is on schedule, and design work, which is underway, should be finishedby the summer of 2025.

"This project will be constructedin a phased approach with the ambulatory buildingand the new inpatient towerexpectedto be complete in 2029," saidJared Gustafson, press secretary for the minister of infrastructure.

"The entire project is expected to be complete by2030-31, which includes the renovations to the existing hospital centre."

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Despite the funding commitment, doctors say there is a growing sense of urgency in central Alberta.

"We havedesperate need for beds. We have desperate need for programs," said Dr. Kym Jim, a Red Deer nephrologist and spokesperson for the advocacy group, Society for Hospital Expansion in Central Alberta (SHECA).

"Right now, countless hundreds of people from central Alberta are having to get their care in Edmonton and Calgary because we simply do not have the programs and the capacity to handle people here in Red Deer."

He is encouraged by the numbers in the budgetbut saidaplan to help bridge the years until the expansion is complete is critical. SHECA has been calling for thiswork for more than a year.

"We have acute issues within the hospital today which have yet to be dealt with. And we have yet to see this transition plan for the hospital the transition plan for programs, the transition plan for staffing those we have yet to see and those are major concerns for us," said Jim.

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The provincial government directed the CBC's questions about a transition plan to Alberta Health Services (AHS). In an email, the health authority said it is working to support the hospital as the design process continues.

"Ensuring Albertans have access to health care when they need it is of the utmost importance to AHS," a spokesperson said.

"That is why AHS continues its efforts to recruit additional physicians and other alternate providers for [Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre] to support not only patientsbut current care teams as well."