Take the tour: Phase One of Grande Prairie Regional Hospital construction now complete

Kenney announces the completion of the GPRH’s first phase, and that AHS will take over the building on July 1

Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda says Premier Kenney told him to make the GPRH a top priority upon being named the minister back in the spring of 2019

Minister of Health, Tyler Shandro, says the new hospital will be state of the art, offer cancer treatment, and offer more services to Northern Albertans

Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given, County of Grande Prairie Reeve Leanne Beaupre and MD of Greenview Reeve Dale Smith were among those who came out for the announcement

Kenney and Toews stand off to the side as Panda and Allard hand over the symbolic keys to Shandro and Stacy Greening, Senior Operating Officer for Clinical Operations for the AHS North Zone

Loewen, Kenney, Toews, Greening, Shandro, Allard and Panda (left to right) stand by an ambulance with local paramedics in front of the entrance to the new Grande Prairie Regional Hospital

Greening stands with the symbolic key in front of the entrance to the new Grande Prairie Regional Hospital

Local paramedics were invited to the new hospital for the announcement

Following the press conference and the handing over of the symbolic key to the hospital, representatives for Clark Builders led tours through the new, unfurnished hospital.

A view of the main entrance from the third floor

Recovery areas on the third floor.

Recovery areas on the third floor, the entire building has lots of natural light.

The entire hospital is fit with pneumatic tubes for transporting paperwork and medicine. Key codes are required in order to send and receive through the tubes, which ensures no mistakes will be made with information or drugs being sent to the wrong place.

The operating rooms, which are also located on the third floor, have lights on a dimmer that can also turn green, which turns red to black and allows for easier spotting of blood.

Patient rooms are equipped with washrooms, and big enough to manage family members staying overnight.

The nurses station on the third floor.

One of the three courtyards at the hospital. They were all designed and donated from different parties.

Another one of the courtyards, viewed from the third floor. The third courtyard, which is off of the Mental Health Wing, is more private.

A hallway on the third floor lined with patient rooms.

The hospital features pictures from local artists mounted across from the elevators on each floor. This one is entitled ‘Canada Geese Goslings’ by Margaret A. Abraham.

‘Fox Kits and Wild Roses’ by Marilyn Grubb

‘Aurora Borealis’ by Lloyd Dykstra

The second floor of the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital, along with hosting a number of patient rooms, is the new home to the Grande Prairie Regional College’s Health Education Centre.

The hallway of the new Health Education Centre is flanked by classrooms on the right hand side, and rooms for labs and simulations on the left.

Also on the second floor is the ICU, as well as the access hallway to the parkade, which has 1,100 available parking spaces.

The Emergency Room and ambulance bay is located on the southern end of the new hospital.

The ambulance bay can hold up to eight ambulances.

The Emergency Room is stationed right next to the ambulance bay.

The X-Ray rooms are located down the hall from Emergency.

Trauma bays are also located on the ground floor. STARS Air Ambulance will be serving the GPRH when it’s ready, and the helipad and pathway to the hospital are heated, meaning crews won’t have to clear it of snow in the winter.

A view of one of the courtyards from the ground floor.

Also located on the ground floor is the Cancer Centre, which will allow for Northern Albertans to receive proper treatments without having to go all the way to Edmonton.

The Cancer Centre, which offers a number of rooms, also features ‘Recliner Areas,’ where patients can sit near the windows and receive their chemotherapy.

The basement level is also home to part of the Cancer Centre, with the radiation treatment rooms. The rooms are located behind four feet thick concrete walls, and have a seven foot thick ceiling above them.

The green light signals that the equipment in the radiation treatment rooms are off, and that it’s safe to enter.

The red light signals that the equipment is in use, and that it’s unsafe to enter. If someone does enter while the red hand is up, they will pass a sensor which will start an alarm bell in the room, and force a shut down of the equipment.

Construction on the radiation treatment room will be completed once the equipment is brought in. There are also pictures from local photographers on the ceiling, to help create a more calming environment for the patients.

Also located in the basement are staff resources, such as kitchens for preparing patients meals, record rooms, offices, as well as the morgue, loading bay, and the decontamination room (pictured above).

The cleaning equipment in the hospital are all ‘smart machines,’ and once started, won’t unlock or open until a thorough cleaning cycle has been run. They are also designed to go just one way, and once the equipment, sheets, etc are clean, they will only be accessible on the other side of the wall, ensuring that there’s no cross contamination between the clean and dirty equipment.

Alberta Health Services is scheduled take over control of the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital on July 1, 2020, and the commissioning process, meaning sterilizing the building, bringing in equipment, and setting up for operations, will take several months. Greening says they expect to be fully staffed and ready to serve the people of Northern Alberta by mid-2021.

by Liam Verster

Take the tour: Phase One of Grande Prairie Regional Hospital construction now complete

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