More continuing care, post acute beds to open at new Edmonton facility this fall

Construction of a new, seven-storey tower is now complete at the Gene Zwozdesky Centre at Norwood.

The tower will be handed over to Alberta Health Services and CapitalCare, who will prepare the building for patients and residents. It is expected to open to the public this fall.

The tower will house 234 complex continuing care and post acute beds, as well as new ambulatory clinics, and an expanded Comprehensive Home Option of Integrated Care for the Elderly (CHOICE) Program.

The tower was designed with input from patients, doctors, health-care staff, and members of the community, and was built in a "Y" shape to provide every resident with a view. The government says it will also improve staff workflow.

"When this facility opens in the next few months, it will provide residents with not just a home but a community where on-location services and programs are available to meet their needs," Jason Copping, minister of health, wrote in a news release.

“This beautiful, purpose-built space will support people to live their lives fully, offering a continuum of care and services, including community care, rehabilitation, continuing care, research and learning,” said Carol Anderson of Alberta Health Services.

Additional renovations at the Gene Zwozdesky Centre at Norwood are also planned and will include:

• renovating the Angus McGugan Pavilion to accommodate 116 hospice and complex continuing care beds
• demolishing the North Pavilion and CHOICE day centre
• constructing a stand-alone parking structure for community emergency medical service (EMS) vehicles and renal dialysis vans.

The renovations are expected to be completed by summer of 2025.

After the renovations, the facility will have 350 beds, a fully accessible green roof, a community paramedic program, a specialty dental clinic, a respiratory outreach program, and will provide a number of other community services to Albertans with complex care needs.

The centre's goal is to reduce demand for emergency room visits, acute care services in hospitals, and continuing care placements.

The former Alberta NDP government initially approved the project in 2017.

“I am pleased that the Gene Zwozdesky Centre is another step closer to opening," said NDP health critic David Shepherd in a news release. "This is a critical project that was commissioned and fully funded by our Alberta NDP government in 2017, and will provide badly-needed continuing care beds in the Edmonton region when it opens this fall."