Sylvan Lake’s new advanced care centre was given $35,000 for high-tech equipment by Red Deer County.
The care centre, which has at the centre of a huge lobbying effort since 2010, is expected to take its first patient in early June.
“I’m personally overwhelmed and the committee is going to be ecstatic once they hear the good news,” said Susan Samson, chair of the committee that was formed to press the government for better emergency medical services for the area.
The county’s support, unanimously approved by council on Tuesday, is one of the single largest donations the committee has received, she said. About $250,000 in fundraised cash has already been invested in equipment.
Samson said county council has been a supporter of the project from the beginning.
“It’s one more thing that they want to offer for the good health of their residents.”
The committee’s next stop is Lacombe County where a similar-sized request to cover new equipment will be made.
Open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., the care centre will be equipped to handle non-life-threatening medical emergencies. There will be access to lab and x-ray equipment and will be staffed with doctors, nurses and all of the technicians required.
Alberta Health Services is spending more than $2 million to set up the care centre up in the Sylvan Lake Community Health Centre and is providing $2.1 million a year to run it.
It will offer what is known as advanced ambulatory care service. Routine medical complaints will still be handled by walk-in clinics but emergency cases now have a local destination.
While the province is paying to outfit the care centre with the necessary basic equipment, the care committee is using its fundraising cash and financial support from other municipalities to provide additional equipment.
The $35,000 from Red Deer County is going towards a monitor and defibrillator that is typically used to respond to cardiac arrest.
Mayor Jim Wood said the benefits of the additional medical care in Sylvan Lake extends beyond its catchment area.
“It definitely will take the pressure off some of the emergency use at the Red Deer hospital, which I think will benefit the entire region.
“Sometimes as municipalities we need to be leaders when we see a need.”
It’s not the first time the county has invested in health. Last May, the county provided $40,000 towards the cost of the Delburne Medical Centre. The county also provides $2 per capita annual funding — about $36,000 — for STARS.
pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
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