By Jeff Henson

Healthcare

New hospital in Beaverlodge another step closer

Dec 13, 2022 | 5:05 PM

A project that has been discussed for roughly a decade, ever since the Doris McFarlane family donated 20 acres of land for a new hospital in Beaverlodge, is now a step closer to becoming a reality.

Alberta Health Services announced on Tuesday that it has signed a letter of intent to pursue becoming the anchor tenant in the Mountview Health Complex.

Beaverlodge Mayor Gary Rycroft says the announcement moves their community another step closer to getting a new hospital.

Rycroft says this project is a stabilizing factor for the entire town.

“We have been running a hospital in Beaverlodge for probably close to 100 years. Our current facility is getting in pretty bad shape. The majority of it was built in 1956.”

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Rycroft explains the next steps in the project after Tuesday’s announcement.

“Our working partner Landex will go into the design phase. They will figure out a cost factor, and then the next phase will be signing a lease with Alberta Health Services. We are trying to get that done in as short a time as possible.”

Rycroft is hopeful that they can get shovels into the ground as early as 2024.

“By the time we get through this next phase and figure out how big the building is going to be and what it is going to cost, and then we will go to negotiating a deal with Alberta Health Services and sign a lease. After that, the engineering and architectural has to be finished. (That will not happen) probably not until the spring or earlier in 2024.”

Community consultation activities are also being planned to gauge what residents want to see in the new facility and determine what to do with the current hospital and land once it is decommissioned.