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(Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)
By Nathaniel Leigh
Grande Prairie Regional Hospital

GPRH unveils new educational mural at ICU

Sep 25, 2026 | 6:01 AM

Grande Prairie Regional Hospital has unveiled a new mural to provide both comfort and education to visitors of the intensive care unit.

Visual communication designer Nicole Pernel designed the mural to showcase all the equipment used in the ICU that families might observe connected to their loved ones while in the hospital’s care.


(Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

“The equipment is very complex; they support life, breathing,” Pernel says. “And I worked to draw every one of those pieces of equipment in a way that has enough detail so you can tell what it is, but also bringing a humanist feel to it.”

GPRH Director of Surgical Services, Dr. Nathan Banda, says ventilators are one of the items he’s most glad are included in the mural.

“When you’re put on a ventilator, [you’re] not in [your] senses,” says Dr. Banda. “You only get to this place because you are very, very, very sick. And even the families may not be able to explain it to you. So, the fact that maybe someone can see it, even before they get to that place? It’s very helpful.”


(Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

(Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

Banda says the mural will serve as a tool to reduce anxiety for patients and visitors alike.

“You see the type of equipment being used,” he says. “And it also can bring some engagement. You may ask a few things, and by knowing what you’re walking into and by having an understanding of the equipment that will be used on you, that reduces the level of anxiety and increases your familiarity with the surroundings and the equipment being used.”


(Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

The mural was conceived by University of Alberta professor Sean Bagshaw, who called the finished product beautiful.

“I do believe it serves as a piece of art in the ICU at the same time as an educational purpose,” Prof. Bagshaw says. “But I find it’s soothing. The colours are soothing, the icons are simple, and the explanations are straightforward.”


(Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

(Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

Bagshaw says he hopes the mural will provide both education and understanding.

“The ICU is an enormously complex, probably confusing, and technologically advanced setting for many people, and I think it’s very intimidating,” he says. “They walk into that environment, and they can feel quite intimidated, quite confused, quite unsettled.”


(Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

Pernel says more murals are anticipated in other hospitals.

“There’s potential for three more going in various Edmonton hospitals, the U of A hospital, and the Misericordia,” she says. “They haven’t started yet, but there is interest, and it’s nice to see there is lots of garnered interest as people learn more about the mural.”

The mural at GPRH is the first of its kind in Alberta.


(Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)
by Nathaniel Leigh