(left-right): Tim Spelliscy, Chair, Board of Directors, Covenant; Guy Pelletier, Chair, Board of Governors, Red Deer Polytechnic; Heather Dirks, Dean, School of Health and Wellness, Red Deer Polytechnic; The Honourable Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services; Patrick Dumelie, President and CEO, Covenant; Stuart Cullum, President, Red Deer Polytechnic. (Supplied)

By rdnewsNOW staff

Strengthening Rural and Remote Health and Wellness

Red Deer Polytechnic and Covenant celebrate new partnership

Nov 22, 2025 | 10:00 AM

Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) and Covenant have announced a collaboration to enhance healthy communities across the province by focusing on rural and remote healthcare settings.

On Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, executive leaders from RDP and Covenant signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), marking a commitment to work together over the next five years to enhance and expand the delivery of health services, training and applied research in support of Alberta’s healthcare sector, specifically for rural and remote sites.

Officials say a significant outcome of this partnership is the development of the Rural and Remote Health and Wellness Centre of Excellence, which will provide workforce training and innovative solutions tailored to positively impact Alberta’s rural and remote communities and residents.

Officials say rural and remote healthcare settings across the country face unique challenges including limited access to services, workforce shortages, long travel distances and lower use or access to technology, including high speed internet. It’s noted these factors can contribute to poorer health outcomes compared to urban areas.

Centrally located, RDP says it is well-positioned to bridge the urban and rural divide and contribute to the unique healthcare needs within Alberta’s rural and remote communities. By partnering with Covenant, RDP says it is engaging with one of Alberta’s leading health providers.

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Meantime, officials say Covenant is uniquely positioned within the sector as it provides care in each of the provinces four pillars of health: Primary Care, Acute Care, Mental Health & Addiction and Continuing Care.

“Our partnership with Covenant opens doors to the development and application of innovative approaches for training, technology adoption and service models within rural and remote settings,” comments Stuart Cullum, President, Red Deer Polytechnic, in a press release. “Together we are contributing to the Government of Alberta’s Rural Health Action Plan and its overarching principle of health equity.”

Officials say the partnership between RDP and Covenant will contribute to the Rural Health Action Plan by focusing on workforce recruitment and retention, access to care and appropriate services, models of care for rural and remote communities, community care and prevention and wellness.

“This partnership strengthens health care in Alberta in a real and meaningful way,” adds Patrick Dumelie, President and CEO, Covenant. “Combining Covenant’s expertise in rural care with Red Deer Polytechnic’s leadership in education will build a Centre of Excellence that will train future health professionals and solve health inequities using innovative models in rural health. It’s about improving access, building capacity and supporting the health and wellbeing of people across Alberta while shaping a stronger health system province wide.”

With an emphasis on the utilization of augmented and virtual reality to provide new learning and training opportunities and applied research centred on the development of Alberta-made diagnostic devices tailored for rural use, validation of health monitoring technologies, the rapid prototyping of assistive technologies, and improving healthcare delivery through cost-effective, portable solutions, officials say RDP and Covenant will be producing graduates and solutions that can be translated across Alberta’s rural and remote communities.

Covenant is described as a leading not-for-profit healthcare provider in Alberta, caring for people at every stage of life at 29 sites in 16 communities across the province. Officials say Covenant delivers a broad range of services and is committed to innovation, collaboration and person-centred care. Its rural health model designs, tests and scales innovative models of care that align with RDP’s priorities for education, training and applied research in rural Alberta.

Red Deer Polytechnic, meantime, is described as a key contributor to Alberta’s healthcare talent pipeline. With 11 healthcare programs and 1,155 students annually, these industry-relevant programs support workforce readiness in high-demand areas including nursing, diagnostics, therapy and senior care.

RDP also offers programming in six rural communities (and growing) through Campus Alberta Central, a joint venture with Olds College of Agriculture & Technology. Officials say this model enables learners to train closer to home, increasing access and supporting regional workforce retention.