Alberta adding hospital beds and operating rooms

As part of the province’s strategy to increase healthcare capacity, Alberta plans to spend $1.8 billion to redevelop and expand the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.

The largest hospital expansion in Alberta’s history, and the largest taxpayer investment in the history of central Alberta, the plans include 200 new in-patient beds and three new operating rooms.

This will increase the hospital’s capacity from 370 beds to 570 beds (54 per cent) and increase surgical capacity to 14 operating rooms. A new cardiac catheterization lab will also be part of the hospital’s expansion.

“For too long, central Albertans have been waiting for these critical upgrades,” stated Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. “That’s why we’ve made expanding the Red Deer Regional Hospital a priority.”

The project’s next steps include functional programming and design. Completion of the expansion is not expected to happen until 2030 or 2031.

“Red Deer and central Alberta’s growing populations mean that our ability to effectively provide health care with the current hospital is limited, resulting in all too frequent disruptions to patient care,” stated Jason Copping, the provincial minister of health. “This needed redevelopment will increase capacity and expand services to meet central Albertans’ needs into the future.”

The busiest hospital in the province outside of Edmonton and Calgary, Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre has the fourth-highest volume of any Alberta Health Services’ facility, with half of its patients coming from communities outside of Red Deer.

The hospital offers a full spectrum of acute care, including advanced surgery, internal medicine and diagnostics, as well as obstetrics, pediatrics, oncology, critical care and emergency care.

www.alberta.ca