Photo capture courtesy YourAlberta Youtube.

By Erika Rolling

Healthcare Funding

Five Peace Region healthcare centres included in new provincial program

Mar 31, 2025 | 12:52 PM

The provincial government says twenty rural healthcare facilities could be improved through their new Rural Hospital Enhancement Program.

Health Minister Adriana LaGrange announced on Monday morning that $15 million will be allocated for this program if Budget 2025 is passed.

“It is critical that we take an evidence based approach to planning, and this program will do just that, so once evaluations are complete later this spring we will be developing project plans for each facility, which will then be used to inform future capital planning and funding decisions.”

She expects Phase One project plans to be finished by this fall. This would allow for design and construction funding in 2026.

That includes:

• Myron Thompson Health Centre in Sundre
• Whitecourt Healthcare Centre
• Brooks Health Centre
• Hinton Healthcare Centre
• William J. Cadzow – Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre
• St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Vegreville
• Drumheller Health Centre
• Slave Lake Healthcare Centre
• Edson Healthcare Centre
• Killam Health Care Centre
• Drayton Valley Hospital and Care Centre
• Pincher Creek Health Centre
• Athabasca Healthcare Centre
• Valleyview Health Centre
• Barrhead Healthcare Centre
• Northwest Health Centre in High Level
• Peace River Community Health Centre
• Central Peace Health Complex in Spirit River
• Lacombe Hospital and Care Centre
• Milk River Health Centre

“This expedited capital planning process will lead to rural facilities getting the upgrades they need sooner; improving access to care, patient experience, and health outcomes for rural Albertans.”

LaGrange also noted that $315 million could potentially support other capital healthcare projects in Budget 2025, with a very large chunk of it going towards the Beaverlodge Mountview facility.

The projects include:

• $25 million to complete projects approved under the Rural Health Facilities Revitalization Program
• $20 million in planning funds for primary care centres in rural, remote and Indigenous communities
• $80 million to develop the La Crete Maternity and Community Health Centre
• $1 million in planning funds for the Cardston Health Centre
• $18 million to fund furnishings, equipment and information technology infrastructure for the Mountview Health Complex in Beaverlodge
• $170 million in capital lease costs for the Mountview facility

The province says these investments will ensure that rural patients can receive care in the communities where they reside, reducing the need for long-distance travel to urban centres for essential medical services.

Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health (North) and MLA for Grande Prairie Ron Wiebe said in a news release; “More Albertans are choosing to live in rural communities, and we’re improving their access to health care services while planning for the future. We’re making major investments in northern Alberta, including in La Crete and Beaverlodge where residents travel too far to access care.”

Funding dollars are also being allocated for the Rural Health Facilities Revitalization Program that was created in 2021. The total funding for the program was $140 million for 44 projects in rural communities across Alberta. Another $25 million dollars is to go towards this in 2025-26 to complete the remaining projects being supported by this particular program.