A timeline for the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre expansion project was detailed to Central Albertans during a public information session.
Alberta Infrastructure hosted the session at Westerner Park’s Chalet on Thursday to provide updates for the expansion, which is running as two separate projects:
- Construction of a new inpatient tower, and the expansion and renovation of the existing hospital’s main building.
- Construction of an ambulatory care building using a private-public partnership delivery model.
If Budget 2024 passes, the 2024 Capital Plan would provide $810 million over the next three years towards a $1.8-billion investment for redevelopment of the hospital.
Maciej Burzynski, with Alberta Infrastructure’s Capital Projects Delivery Division, said the inpatient tower will feature almost 600,000 square-feet of clinical space throughout its six floors. The tower will include 200 inpatient beds, surgical services, operating rooms, cardiac catheterization labs and more, he said.
The schematic design was recently completed and the next step is design development.
“The schematic design really helped us to achieve the overall shape and size of the building, and lay out all the clinical components of all six floors of the tower,” said Burzynski.
“Design development will take the schematic design one step further and look to room-by-room layouts and design every single room in the tower, including all mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.”
This April, Alberta Infrastructure will issue a request for proposals for a construction manager to help build the inpatient tower. The target is to award that contract in June, with construction expected to begin in late 2024. The estimated completion of the tower and renovations to more than 250,000 square-feet of the existing hospital is 2029.
Meanwhile, the functional program and P3 business case have been completed and approved for the ambulatory building.
“The P3 procurement documentation will be completed next month to further the procurement process,” said Burzynski.
“After a short listing of the request for qualification of the proponents, request for proposals will be issued in May of this year to shortlist the P3 contractors and design team.”
The P3 contract will be awarded in May 2025, with construction beginning in June 2025 and construction completion estimated in 2029.
“The project team has worked very hard to get to this point … and we will continue to work hard to move this project closer to reality for the citizens of Central Alberta,” Burzynski said.
Keith Wolstenholme, an orthopaedic surgeon at the hospital and a member of the Society for Hospital Expansion in Central Alberta (SHECA), said a lot of what he heard at Thursday’s information session “has to be taken as good news.”
“The fact that there was a continued commitment in the budget and that our project wasn’t put on pause, like the (South Edmonton Hospital) project, is fantastic news,” Wolstenholme said.
“I think it’s nice that they shared timelines with the public. One of the things we’ve asked for as SHECA was transparency.”
Wolstenholme said one thing that was missing from the session was a transition plan.
“As somebody who is a frontline worker and has to survive looking after patients for the next five to seven years until we actually have an increase in our capacity, it’s a bit disappointing that we still haven’t had a formal transition plan,” he said.
“We know that the care we’re able to provide, as far as capacity, is not enough right now. We’re struggling in many areas. Our emergency department is understaffed – we only have 60 per cent of the physicians that we’re supposed to have in the emergency department. We know general internal medicine has many nights uncovered.
“I know as an orthopaedic surgeon on call, that at least half the nights I don’t have cardiology backup, I don’t have general internal medicine backup and there aren’t enough emergency room physicians in the hospital. That’s difficult for my patients.”
Lynn Van Laar, also with SHECA, expressed frustration that two levels will be added to the hospital’s parkade before new services in the tower are available.
“I don’t know how adding floors to a parkade is more important than urgent needs like a cath lab or doing something with our emergency department. You don’t want to get sick in Red Deer and have to go to emergency or heaven forbid have a heart attack here,” said Van Laar.
She also echoed Wolstenholme’s sentiments regarding the need for a transition plan.
“What are we going to do until all of this is in place? Are people still going to die because we don’t have a cath lab? Are you still going to have to wait years if you need a hip or knee replacement?” asked Van Laar.
Mayor Ken Johnston came away from Thursday’s session saying he was “thrilled” about the future.
“I think the immediate benefits are construction and economic development. The middle-term benefits are the needed health structure, the additional beds and the ability to stay in Red Deer to get treatment,” said Johnston.
“This hospital will spur a wave of growth in Red Deer over the next three, five, 10 years that we could only imagine. It’s an incredible day for the city.”
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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