Photo: Shane Clausing

By Shane Clausing

Grande Prairie Regional Hospital

Premier Kenney, ministers & dignitaries officially open Grande Prairie Regional Hospital

Feb 26, 2022 | 3:23 PM

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, various provincial officials, Ministers and local dignitaries were in Grande Prairie on Saturday morning to “officially” celebrate the opening of the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital (GPRH).

While the hospital did open its doors to patients back on Dec. 4, Feb.26 was the first time officials from the province were able to cut the ribbon to the new facility.

Construction on the hospital began back in 2011 and was supposed to be completed in 2015, however, it incurred delays and cost overruns which led to it not opening until late 2021.

Premier Kenney said he is happy to see this hospital finally open its doors to the public and adds it will help make life easier for residents in northwestern Alberta.

“You’ve needed and deserved a new hospital here for a very long time and this government is delighted to finally see this day come to pass,” he stated. “This hospital will allow for thousands of more surgeries and will provide the best cancer care available. Projects like this are a part of Alberta’s Recovery Plan and part of our expansion of capacity.”

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“This hospital means more beds, surgeries and smarter healthcare services, all offered in a hospital designed around the needs of families, parents, kids, and neighbours. This is your hospital fueled by the dedication of nurses and physicians and other healthcare workers to provide you with the best care they can possibly give. Good things take a while, and this is a good thing.”

North Zone Medical Director for Alberta Health Services’ Dr. Brian Muir spoke at the event and gave some insight on just how much work has happened at the GPRH since the doors opened in December.

“Our physicians and care teams have been making good use of these facilities since day one. Since opening this facility, there have been over 10,000 emergency room visits, 1,154 surgeries and 316 babies have been born here already,” he said.

“Our cancer centre has two radiation vaults. This makes our cancer site the fifth in the province and first in the North Zone to offer radiation therapy. Surgical capacity in Grande Prairie will double with the facilities 11 operating rooms. We have expanded mental health services, especially for children and youth, we have an education area with Northwestern Polytechnic,” he added.

“The new hospital has been built with the future needs of the reason in mind. We will be able to expand healthcare services and workforce as demands in the reason change. This world-class facility will become a beacon to attract and retain both Canadian and Internationally trained specialists.”

Photo: Shane Clausing

With the hospital now open, the conversation is shifting to how AHS and the province can begin recruiting doctors, nurses and physicians to come work in northern Alberta.

Premier Kenney says Budget 2022 outlines that there is funding available to help AHS with the recruitment of healthcare workers to this area.

“This budget we tabled ($600 million), the focus is to increase capacity (to healthcare) and that partly means recruiting, hiring and training staff,” Kenney explained.

Of that $600 million used to help boost healthcare capacity, $5 million of it will be used for attracting healthcare workers and physicians to rural places like Grande Prairie.

Kenney adds there are only about 900 physicians serving outside of major cities like Edmonton and Calgary, which is why they need to offer extra incentives to attract people to rural communities.

“Part of this is about the Alberta Work Initiative where we’re investing money in a targeted way, in our post-secondary institutions for in-demand occupations, and one of the key occupations will be nurses. In addition, we have outlined special incentives for both nurses and physicians for rural recruitment and retention.”

The final cost of the hospital came out to $870 million. Provincial officials hopes it will serve as the “go-to place” for residents in northwestern Alberta to receive the healthcare they need.