Alberta Health Minister Sarah Hoffman is preparing to make a major announcement in Sylvan Lake on Monday about enhancing the town’s health-care services.
Minister Sarah Hoffman will speak at 1 p.m. at Sylvan Lake’s Municipal Government Building — along with the town’s Mayor Sean McIntyre, former mayor Susan Samson, who’s chair of the Sylvan Lake Urgent Care Committee, and various health professionals.
Although no one is yet willing to confirm anything, the announcement is thought to concern the local push for an Urgent Care Centre in Sylvan Lake.
A committee headed by Samson has been exploring the community’s need for a centre to treat non-life threatening injuries.
Samson was upset last spring when no money had been allocated to Sylvan Lake’s Urgent Care centre in the provincial budget. She said at the time, “The biggest crisis in health right now is the overcrowding in emergency. That’s all we’re trying to do is keep people who don’t require emergency services out of emergency rooms so that high level, very expensive triage is being done for the people who need it.”
The Sylvan Lake area serves more than 22,000 people, and includes Sylvan Lake, Eckville, Bentley, Benalto, Lacombe County, Red Deer County and summer villages Birchcliff, Half Moon Bay, Jarvis Bay, Norglenwold, and Sunbreaker Cove.