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Canmore Hospital emergency department upgrades underway

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A $4.4 million-dollar renovation to the emergency department at Canmore General Hospital is underway as planning and design work have started.

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The project is jointly funded by the Government of Alberta, Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the Canmore & Area Health Care Foundation. The upgrades aim to improve patient flow, create private patient treatment spaces and meet current infection, prevention and control standards. The Government of Alberta confirmed recently they will contribute $2.2 million dollars to the project, leaving $2.2 million dollars to be raised by the community.

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The Emergency department at Canmore General Hospital saw almost a total of 14,780 patients in 2022, and 276 babies born in 2022 (up from 201 babies born the previous year).

Canmore’s population has grown from just over 4,000 people in 1984, to a population of more than 15,000 currently.

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Over the past year, Canmore and Area Health Care Foundation (CAHCF) said they worked hard with partners at AHS to get the project started, architects have already been hired and there is an estimated completion date of spring/summer 2024.

The need to modernize Canmore General hospital’s emergency department, which has not been updated since the hospital was built in 1984, was identified as urgent 10 years ago. The 2022-24 emergency department renovation will focus on privacy for patients and ensuring all working areas are suitable for medical staff to deliver the latest treatments.

The pressure on Canmore hospital is significant as it provides medical services the entire Bow Corridor which extends from Cochrane and the Stoney First Nation Community west to the British Columbia border. The population of this area is approximately 30,000 people with an additional 4.0 million tourists visiting Banff national park each year.

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Edmonton-based ACI Architects has been chosen as the prime consultants and architects for the Canmore emergency department project.

“A lot of the changes that the project would facilitate involve a better working area for the staff,” said Dr. Mike Wickham, Emergency Physician Lead, Canmore General Hospital.

Like an open-concept house, you can easily overhear conversations happening in other areas because of the design of the space.

“There’s no real private place in our department to talk about your issues,” said Dr. Wickham.

About two decades ago, Dr. Wickham became the hospital’s first certified emergency physician. Now, as Lead Physician, Dr. Wickham is setting higher standards for all staff in the emergency department.

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“He has really raised the bar for the physicians to really have higher credentials,” said Robbie Berendt, a retired RN who worked at the hospital for 23 of her nearly four-decade long career.

For Dr. Wickham, the numbers he sees at the hospital aren’t the full story. And while more beds provided by an expansion will help, the design of the department itself needs an upgrade to improve quality of care and efficiency.  The department is 35-years-old. It doesn’t accommodate computers very well, bigger equipment, and family-centered care.

“We want to change … how the patients enter the system right from the beginning, right from the front doors of the hospital because if you are having a significant medical concern, I think the first person you should see is a nurse, not the front desk,” said Dr. Wickham.

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In 2010-11, there were 4,032 patients that required critical care because of the severity of their injuries. In 2017-18 that number jumped to 5,816 patients.

Steven Scott, Canmore & Area Health Care Foundation’s Board of Trustees Chair, says projects like these help the Canmore General Hospital remain a first-class healthcare facility.

“I’m extremely proud of what the foundation has already accomplished, including the recently completed $1.5-million renovation of Golden Eagle View long-term care centre,” Scott says. “This and other capital projects have been made possible by our wonderful, visionary donors who have worked with us to meet the growing needs of our hospital and community.”

“This is a great example of how communities and health foundations often work in close partnership with AHS and the Government of Alberta to make this province a great place to live and raise a family,” says Jason Copping, Minister of Health. “I thank the foundation and its donors for their commitment and generosity in supporting healthcare delivery for Canmore.”

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“The Canmore General Hospital plays an important role in the well-being of this community,” says Mauro Chies, Interim AHS President and CEO. “It is vital we keep our healthcare infrastructure current, and projects like this ensure our patients receive quality care in the best environments.”

The upgraded emergency department will include:  a new private family quiet room and triage space, an ambulatory care area, new nurse stations and a new registration desk, enabling better flow and line of sight to patients, modernized gyne treatment room and nutrition station, a medication room and a barrier-free washroom for patient use.

AHS, who own the Canmore hospital building, said they currently has about 540 maintenance projects underway throughout the province. The Canmore and Area Health Care Foundation (CAHCF) said they supply needs for fundraising based directly on the requests from the Canmore hospital, and said they plan to launch their capital campaign in January 2023 with a goal of reaching the $2.2 million dollars that are needed.

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