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Photo Courtesy EverythingGP
By Tanner Smith
9,000 square-foot facility

Mayor of Beaverlodge shares thoughts on new hospital

Dec 12, 2023 | 1:23 PM

The Alberta Government announced the construction of a new hospital yesterday. (Monday, December 11) in Beaverlodge.

The Mountview Health Complex will be built on 20 acres of land donated by the McFarlane family to replace the 64-year-old Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital.

The project is set to break ground in the spring of 2024.

Beaverlodge Mayor Gary Rycroft explained the uncommon process of getting this hospital built, as it will be owned by the Town of Beaverlodge and be built by Landrex Inc., but will be leased to and operated by Alberta Health Services.

“We came up with a project number and size that seemed to fit everybody, and everybody was happy. So it is kind of a groundbreaking, very unique situation, probably the first in the province like it.”

Rycroft says the funding for this project will also be split up between the town and the province, with AHS paying their portion through the lease.

He adds they are interested in looking at more developments and other tenants on the site further down the road.

Rycroft also addressed any concerns about this facility potentially being a “private” or “for-profit” healthcare complex.

“It’s a little bit of a different way to build a structure, but it will still be operated by Alberta Health Services, the staffing will still be the same, through Alberta Health Services. The structure will just be built privately and leased.”

This new facility is also expected to help with staffing issues these rural hospital emergency departments often face.

Rycroft says he believes in AHS and expects a new facility to play a factor in where physicians decide to live and work.

“Well I do believe Alberta Health Services and the Province of Alberta are working to get more physicians in place, we got (the Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital ED has) pretty good coverage right now, it’s just once in a while it’s off.”

Rycroft discussed what he thinks healthcare in Beaverlodge will look like four years from now, saying similar to what it is now, “just more improved and with better access.”

He also expects the new Mountview Health Complex and the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital to continue to working together.

“You know I’ve been involved with the Healthcare in this community since the 70s, Beaverlodge and Grande Prairie have always worked together. We take their post-op patients, (post operation) we send them patients, it’s back and forth all the time. This will be no different.” Said Rycroft.

Rycroft also wanted to clear up some confusion in the community; as the Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital will remain open, until the completion of the new facility.

During his interview with EverythingGP, Rycroft also shared the story of Doris McFarlane, who played a massive role in the creation of this new facility:

“Doris came to Beaverlodge in the late 40s, 1948 I believe, she was a nurse from Nova Scotia, married Douglas McFarland in Beaverlodge and raised their family. They owned the property that this facility is going to be built on, and of course she worked as a nurse, she worked with me on the ambulance as well. She was an incredible lady and donated the land for this facility. They lived just on the east side of the of property, and she passed away a couple of years ago. She was a remarkable lady, incredibly smart and good with people.”

by Tanner Smith