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By Curtis Galbraith
Healthcare

Local physiotherapists working to bring training for their profession to Grande Prairie

Jan 21, 2026 | 12:00 AM

A group of physiotherapists and their supporters continue to work on getting training for their profession set up in Grande Prairie.

A three-person delegation from the U of A Masters of Science Physiotherapy Grande Prairie Satellite Program spoke to city council about the idea at Monday’s meeting.

The idea came from the Northern Alberta Medical program for training doctors coming to Grande Prairie, says physiotherapist Michelle Boulet, one member of the delegation.

“And felt that there was a very good prospect to have the physiotherapy program here as well because of the already existing satellite sites in the other areas, Camrose and Calgary.”

“(The) technology is already in place, so just having that infrastructure and the buy-in from the locals and from the university to support that, that it should be a great initiative to promote, so I reached out to the university and got that ball rolling.”

One member of the group, local physiotherapist Shannon Cuff, says there is what she calls “a huge need” for physiotherapists in rural and remote areas..

“We know that in the large urban centres (that) there is a huge need and people tend to want to stay and work in large, urban centres, but there is also lots going on in rural and remote cities and smaller urban centres.”

Cuff adds as other health care services expand, the need for more physiotherapists grows.

“We have a huge, new hospital and have recruited lots more surgeons and specialists and, along with that, goes the need for other healthcare professionals, including physiotherapists.”

“The healthcare system does not work just with (a) few professions; it takes an enormous amount of interprofessional activity and multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary teams to get people better from their accidents and illnesses.”

The delegation told council that there is a 30 per cent vacancy rate for physiotherapists in the North Zone, just in the public sector. Cuff says there is a “desperate need” to fill positions in the public and private sectors.

The group has so far met with regional MLAs and the University of Alberta, says local physiotherapist Jacqueline Henderson.

“We are at the point where it needs to be brought to the provincial government and they can have their conversations with the University of Alberta to determine more of the logistics in terms of space needs and funding.”

One idea being looked at is sharing space with the Northern Alberta Medical Program, but that has not been finalized yet.

Northwestern Polytechnic and the Maskwa Medical Centre are also stakeholders in this effort.

“We know that the research shows that if you train locally, your chances of staying locally (are) huge,” says Cuff, adding; “The University of Alberta program has researched this. There is a research article that shows that of the satellite campus in Camrose, 75 per cent of those students actually did stay, and their first job was in rural practice.” 

Boulet says there are also students who have to leave Grande Prairie for training.

“It steals those students away from Grande Prairie and the north region, so if they were trained here, the chance of them staying is significantly greater.”

Henderson says it would be easier for students to stay home for their training.

“It (also) provides benefit to Grande Prairie as being a diverse economic hub. We (are) bringing healthcare here, we are bringing more education opportunities here, and so it can bring people into our community.”

City council approved having Mayor Jackie Clayton write a letter in support of this idea.

by Curtis Galbraith