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
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.