By Liam Verster

GPRH Update

Phase two construction ongoing at GPRH, on track for 2021 opening

Jun 20, 2021 | 6:00 AM

While Phase 2 construction at the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital continues, Alberta Health Services is preparing to move all but some services out of the Queen Elizabeth II hospital.

Phase 2 involves working with Alberta Infrastructure to add some more services to the GPRH.

“That includes the build out of a 28-bed mental health unit and an additional 32-bed medical unit,” explained Stacy Greening, Senior Operating Officer for Clinical Operations at AHS.

“In addition, we were just approved as well under the Alberta Surgical Initiative for the build out of two (operating room) suites. So that brings the total number of OR’s at the site to 11, and that includes a dedicated obstetrics OR in the maternity unit as well.”

Meantime, AHS is in the operational commissioning stage, which involves procuring furniture and equipment, having it installed and tested, and then thoroughly cleaning the facility.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Construction is expected to be done in the fall, with operations and departments moving into the new hospital by the end of the calendar year.

“What that means is that we don’t have to have two sites running and patients don’t have to be transported between the two, they will be at one single site for the length of their care, and then also not have to endure any transport between the two facilities,” says Greening.

Despite the plans to move operations over to the new facility, AHS is still considering what to do with QEII, and there are some programs that will be maintained at the old hospital for the near future.

“The QEII site will continue to provide health care services once the GPRH site is open, and so the exact scope of those services are currently under review, but we do know a few things that definitely need to stay here,” says Greening.

“We will have a single emergency department that will be located at the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital. What will remain here at the QEII is community ambulatory care, including allied health and community respiratory programs. And then Mackenzie Place will continue to operate out of the QEII as well, they’re not moving over, and along with the programs that support these services.”

Greening adds an enhanced care unit was just opened at Mackenzie Place earlier this year, which will continue to operate there when the other services move to the GPRH.

AHS is also in the process of reviewing all their leased spaces, as well as current service demands to ensure services are provided in the most appropriate location and that the existing infrastructure is used in the best way.

“As the QEII hospital is clinical service ready and preference would be to continue to use this infrastructure for clinical programs where feasible and just ensure we are not duplicating any services across the two sites.”

The reviews of the potential future operations of the QEII are expected to be done by the end of June.