First patients served at new Grande Prairie Regional Hospital
After 10 years of construction, the $850 million Grande Prairie Regional Hospital (GPHR) opened its doors to patients Saturday morning.
The GPRH has 10 operating rooms, a dedicated obstetrics suite, and 243 beds, including 28 serving as a mental health unit and 32 acute care spaces, compared to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital's 181, the previous facility serving the region.
The new facility is intended to serve 11,000 inpatient and 65,000 emergency room visits, in addition to completing around 12,000 surgeries.
The GPRH will serve a catchment area as far north as High Level and into the Northwest Territories, with patients as far south as Grande Cache and east as Peace River.
"It is super exciting," said Stacy Greening, Alberta Health Services (AHS) Grande Prairie supervisor.
"We have waited a long time to open this facility, and it is just such a blessing for the community," she added. "I can't think of a better day."
The hospital is now one of five sites in the province to offer radiation therapy — a first for northern Alberta.
"Patients from this area of the province no longer have to travel to Edmonton, and that's a 10-hour round trip for people if they're driving," Greening said.
Every patient will have their own room with sleep space for visiting family.
"This is about bringing care as close to home as possible," Greening added.
CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS PLAGUE PROJECT
Initially announced in 2007, ground was broken on July 29, 2011, with a projected completion date of 2014. That date changed to 2018, but by 2015 the province said the project was two years behind schedule and $89 million over budget.
In 2018, the NDP government dismissed the contractor, Graham Construction, and halted construction.
Graham Construction said the province was to blame for costs overruns and delays as it continued to change designs so many times that completed work had to be torn down.
- Almost $13 million to be paid to Grande Prairie hospital subcontractors, others
- Grande Prairie hospital contractors say they’re owed $60M by province
- Construction firm accuses province of botching build of Grande Prairie hospital
A new contractor, Clark Builders, won the bid to continue construction on the hospital with work completed three months ahead of schedule.
In July last year, AHS took possession of the facility and installed equipment alongside performing a deep clean.
The hospital began accepting patients at 6 a.m. Saturday.
The QEII will no longer accept patients and focus solely on ambulatory care, with all people currently undergoing treatment being transferred to the new facility.
Approximately 130 to 150 patients will be transferred from the QEII and other health care clinics across the province. Officials estimate all the transfers to take approximately 18 hours.
STAFFING CONCERNS
In July, local health care workers and the Official Opposition raised concerns that the current QEII hospital is understaffed, and since the new facility has even more beds, capacity challenges could persist.
Greening says AHS has a dedicated recruitment team that is already seeing results.
"We've actually been successful in recruiting over 200 staff and 10 physicians," she said. "We're going to continue to grow.
"What've noticed actually as we've been posting positions is that individuals are attracted to the opportunity to work in the new facility."
'CULMINATION OF YEARS OF ANTICIPATION'
Dr. Alika Lafontaine, GPRH facility chief for anesthesia, said the general feeling with staff at the facility is joy.
"Everyone is very, very excited about being in the new building," Lafontaine said. "Today’s been a culmination of years of anticipation for this day.
"This new hospital is really meaningful to me because it's delivering on a promise we made several years ago to our population here in the north, our patients," he added. "We should really look at this opportunity as a growth opportunity.
"It's just the beginning of a new story for Alberta's north and helping to rebuild our health care system after the challenges of the past couple years, but also looking to the future. Making it a place that we could both train and recruit new health care workers."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Alex Antoneshyn and Jeremy Thompson, and The Local Journalism Initiative
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Steve Albini, legendary producer for Nirvana, the Pixies and an alternative rock pioneer, dies at 61
Steve Albini, an alternative rock pioneer and legendary producer who shaped the musical landscape through his work with Nirvana, the Pixies, PJ Harvey and more, has died. He was 61.
Case against ex-Mountie charged with helping China can go ahead in Quebec, judge says
A Quebec court judge has ruled that the case against a former RCMP officer charged with helping China conduct foreign interference can go ahead in the province.
Ippei Mizuhara, ex-interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, will plead guilty in betting case
The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case in which prosecutors allege he stole nearly US$17 million from the Japanese baseball player to pay off debts, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.