By Troy Gillard (Twitter: @Troy_Gillard)

Council to continue pressing AHS regarding hospital expansion

Apr 4, 2018 | 9:56 AM

City council has no plans to rest when it comes to pushing for Red Deer Regional Hospital expansion.

Mayor Tara Veer said Tuesday that council’s “next reasonable step” is to meet with local AHS representatives to see what is needed to secure funding as soon as possible.

“I would think that we would continue to make a case that we need infrastructure funding identified within the five-year capital plan,” Veer said. “Once funds are approved it would take a couple of years for design and construction. Obviously, because it is a critical health services need, sooner is better rather than later.”

There has been cautious optimism since the province included $1 million in last month’s 2018 Alberta Budget to develop the business case for hospital expansion. But Veer says the question of how long it will be before hospital expansion takes place remains unanswered.

“I think it’s a small step in the right direction with respect to the business planning for it. But certainly if there’s no funds identified within the five-year plan, foreseeably it could be ten years before we would see the opening of a new facility, and that’s only if funds were approved in year six of the plan.”

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Veer is hopeful the province will take action based the recommendations included in the business plan, but says they’ll continue to push forward with their advocacy.

The City of Red Deer has written multiple letters and had several face-to-face meetings with provincial officials over the last year and a half. Also, 16 local municipalities have submitted letters of support to back Red Deer’s push for improved health services.

by Troy Gillard (Twitter: @Troy_Gillard)

Council to continue pressing AHS regarding hospital expansion

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