Health Minister Adriana LaGrange is set to announce funding for new urgent care facilities across Alberta at an event in Airdrie on Friday afternoon.
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LaGrange will be joined by Justin Wright, parliamentary secretary for rural health (south); Angela Pitt, MLA for Airdrie-East; and Peter Brown, mayor of Airdrie.
In a February email to Discover Airdrie, a government official confirmed that Budget 2025 includes $2 million to advance plans for an integrated urgent and primary care facility in Airdrie. The funding is included under “Other Proposed Health Capital Initiatives Planning” in the budget.
It is unknown whether Friday’s announcement will include this funding or focus on other urgent care projects across the province.
"Alberta’s government is prioritizing the delivery of high-quality health care services in the Airdrie area and, if passed, Budget 2025 would provide $2 million to advance plans for the integrated urgent and primary care facility in Airdrie, which was approved last year as part of a proposal from One Health Airdrie," the official wrote in the email.
The official also emphasized the importance of planning:
"Planning is essential to ensure Albertans are receiving value for every dollar spent. Budget 2024 included $3 million over three years to explore health care options for the north Calgary and Airdrie areas. These funds are being carried over into Budget 2025 to support continued planning work," the official added.
One Health Airdrie
One Health Airdrie’s proposal, which aims to combine primary and urgent care services, is a project led by One Health Airdrie and QUALICO Communities.
The facility received Alberta Health’s approval for its business proposal in 2024, and Airdrie City Council approved rezoning to support development at its Vantage Rise location.
In a December 2024 interview with Discover Airdrie, Dr. Julian Kyne, a leading advocate for the project, expressed optimism about the timeline.
Airdrie Community Health Centre Renovations Nearing Completion
The official also confirmed that renovations at the Airdrie Community Health Centre are expected to be complete later this year. The project will consolidate public health and non-urgent care services into one area of the facility and increase treatment room sizes and capacity by 37.5 per cent.
"The project will support the creation of a new trauma and negative air pressure room, a dedicated dictation room, an expanded waiting area, and more triage stations to improve privacy and the movement of patients and staff," the official wrote.
The province allocated $8.4 million for these renovations, which resumed in February 2024 after Alberta Health paused work to evaluate the One Health proposal.
The official noted that Alberta’s government is taking an integrated approach to health system planning.
"Last year, we introduced seven new health corridors that reflect where and how Albertans are accessing health care services. These corridors were developed using data for overall travel patterns of Albertans using health services and facilities, as well as feedback received during health care refocusing public engagement sessions," the official explained.
The health corridors will be used to ensure an evidence-based approach is taken when making decisions about services, workforce, and infrastructure across the new provincial health agencies.
According to the province, Budget 2025 includes $3.8 billion over three years to support health capital projects and programs across the province. This includes planning funds for the north Calgary and Airdrie area and funds to advance the integrated urgent and primary care facility proposed by One Health Airdrie.
The proposed facility would be required to operate using a joint leadership model in which One Health Airdrie is the primary care operator, working within Alberta’s approved physician compensation parameters.
The announcement is scheduled for Friday, March 28, at 1:30 p.m. in the main lobby of Airdrie City Hall.
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