Grande Prairie Regional Hospital in northern Alberta opens after years of delays

After years of delays, the new hospital in Grande Prairie, Alta., is now officially open.

The Grande Prairie Regional Hospital accepted its first patients last weekend.

Construction began in 2011 and was meant to be completed in 2015 but delays, including disputes over change orders and a change in contractor, pushed the finish further and further back.

Saturday’s opening came amid a fairly rigorous task of moving patients from the old Queen Elizabeth II Hospital to the new facility.

On Dec. 4, 99 patients were relocated from the QEII to the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital. In addition, 1,192 Alberta Health Services staff members also made the move, along with 24 physicians and 95 volunteers.

The feat took more than 10 hours and 17 different EMS vehicles to complete, including eight traditional ambulances, two critical-care units, one neonatal intensive care ambulance, a 40-foot multi-patient EMS bus, four non-urgent transport units and a recreation therapy bus.

The team spent months planning the move, said Stacy Greening, senior operating officer for Grande Prairie.

“Throughout the week prior to the move, the team sat down to look at all the patients that were in the hospital to make sure we understood the clinical needs for each and that we had really good plans in place for what bus they were going to be on,” she said.

“They met up on the highway, so we had this caravan of EMS vehicles, which was so cool. It just speaks to the connection and the integration of AHS, and how awesome it is to be part of a provincial health authority where we can all support each other in a big event like moving a hospital,” Greening said.

The first patient left the old hospital at 6:45 a.m. and the transfer wrapped up around 4:50 p.m.

The patients were just part of the relocation effort.

“I think at last count there was 40,000 pieces of equipment that needed to be commissioned and ready,” Greening said, “everything from our CT scanners, to our lab analyzers, to the beds in the rooms, to all the medical equipment.

“If you think about our OR theatres and all the equipment that is in each of those theatres, that is a herculean effort.

“Then you overlay we’ve had a pandemic in the midst of that and we’ve had some shortages we’ve had to deal with as well. I’m just so proud of the teams,” she said.

Greening thanked the community for its patience and promised the new facility is “worth the wait.”

The emergency department at the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital opened at 6 a.m., with the first patient visit taking place at about 6:45 a.m. The first surgery was completed at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The first baby was born at the new hospital at 7:35 a.m. Sunday.

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The new hospital has 11 operating suites, a state-of-the-art cancer centre, and a four-thousand-square-metre space which — in partnership with Grande Prairie Regional College — will be used for education of future nurses and other healthcare professionals.

“It’s extremely important for the community and the region,” Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton said.

The region is excited about the services the new site offers, but also what it means for the future, she said.

“What it brings for investment, research and development and future employment. The spinoffs of that regional hospital will be significant. It’s a long time coming but the community is extremely happy to see it open.”

Clayton said for people moving to Grande Prairie, “health care is always a consideration.

“The City of Grande Prairie and the region provide many amenities, but this health-care facility is truly one of a kind. It’s the most northerly hospital of its size in all of Canada.

“It provides reassurance, when you move to this region, that you don’t need to travel Edmonton for services.”

The emergency department at the QEII Hospital is now permanently closed.

With files from Emily Mertz, Global News and The Canadian Press.