At the Red Deer Regional Hospital on Oct. 18, 2024, Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston (centre), flanked by Alberta Health Minister and Red Deer-North MLA, Adriana LaGrange (left), and Red Deer Regional Health Foundation CEO, Manon Therriault, said the announcement of a temporary and fast-tracked cardiac catheterization lab made for an extraordinary day for the region. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

TRANSFORMATIONAL LAB WILL SAVE MANY LIVES

‘An extraordinary day’: Cardiac catheterization lab to open in Red Deer 5 years ahead of schedule

Oct 18, 2024 | 8:05 PM

In what is monumental news for the Red Deer health care scene, cardiac catheterization lab services are coming to the city much sooner than anticipated.

The news that a temporary lab will be implemented sometime in late 2026 or early 2027 was formally announced late Friday afternoon at Red Deer Regional Hospital.

According to the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation (RDRHF), it and AHS, along with assistance from the Government of Alberta, are partnering on the project.

The services will be available five years ahead of schedule, as two such labs are part of the $1.8 billion hospital redevelopment project. Those two permanent labs are still happening, with the project announced today being separate from the redevelopment, an excited Health Minister Adriana LaGrange confirmed.

RDRHF CEO Manon Therriault explained that the temporary lab will be situated where the current hospital staff lounge is, on the main floor.

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Once the two permanent labs are constructed, the temporary cath lab site will be turned into a lab for vascular and neurology care. That aspect is new and will be rolled into the overall redevelopment project, she said.

(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“This is something we deserve and have needed for a very long time,” said Therriault. “We worked hard to be granted those two permanent labs, but we believed that those were still too far away. That’s why local health leaders banded together and asked, ‘How do we fix this?'”

Therriault noted that over its lifespan, the interim lab will likely save 160 lives, as it means patients experiencing cardiac issues will not require transportation to Calgary or Edmonton for the type of treatment a cath lab offers.

She gets goosebumps, she admitted, thinking of its eventual impact.

“The foundation is doing this because of the lives it’ll save. It’s those stories [which are] moving us forward and catapulting us into the need to get it done,” she said. “The foundation represents the community and we support the things that the community is passionate about. We hear the stories and it’s painful, and we want to be the solution.”

One such story is that of Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston’s late wife, Isabelle.

Isabelle passed in 2017 after spending 90 days in Red Deer’s ICU due to a heart attack, but not before she was first transported out of the city for surgery at Calgary’s catheterization lab.

“This is an extraordinary day for our city and for central Alberta [as] this is a life-saving and transformational service,” the mayor said. “If I had the 100,000 citizens of our city behind me today, their cheering would be immense for the efforts that have been made.”

Janice Stewart, chief officer for AHS Central Zone, said preliminary designs are in place, with project completion 24-30 months away.

“We are already creating space to vacate the existing lounge. The permanent space will have two cath labs back-to-back and work together jointly, while this one will be standalone,” she explained.

L-R: Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston, RDRHF CEO Manon Therriault, AHS Chief Officer for Central Zone, Janice Stewart, and Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“It’s close to the emergency department, close to the operating rooms and well-positioned for emergency access. The new cath labs will also be on the main floor and even closer to the ORs.”

What’s more is that this will make way for a new staff lounge, which is something that’s also been needed for some time.

Friday’s announcement came just an hour ahead of a fundraiser hosted by an advocacy group called Time is Life, which is spearheaded by local cardiologist Dr. Gustavo Nogareda.

Nogareda spoke to rdnewsNOW last week about his eagerness to see cath lab capabilities come to Red Deer, because it ultimately means saving more lives and the ability for him and other specialists to offer the full potential of their skills. The fundraiser benefitted the health foundation and the temporary cath lab.

More details are expected in the coming weeks as it relates to the financial specifics of the interim project.

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