Michelle Bates, vice-chair and acting executive director of the Airdrie Health Foundation, says recent upgrades at the Airdrie Community Health Centre mark progress, but do not solve the city’s long-term health care needs.
In a Sept. 16 interview, Bates said she toured the newly renovated urgent care area, which opened to patients on Sept. 9 after an $8.4-million renovation.
“It’s not just the urgent care that’s being renovated. It’s the entire facility. The footprint inside it is changing, and so things are looking shiny and new, clean, more of an emergency kind of feeling for the urgent care,” she said.
“There’s a trauma room, a negative pressure area... a de-escalation room, so all of those things I think are great for our facility, but, and this is phase two, so there’s still more to come, and it’ll be exciting to see it all come together."
Bates said the improvements are welcome but do not solve the city’s needs.
“However, this really isn’t a long-term solution. Still, for Airdrie, we do need a hospital. We need an emergency department. It would be great to have an emergency department that is large enough for the entire community.”
The provincial government called the Phase 2 renovation a “major milestone” in a Sept. 16 release, citing a 37.5 per cent increase in treatment room capacity, improved infection prevention and a new EMS parking area inside urgent care.
“This is an important step in strengthening Alberta’s health care system,” Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Matt Jones said in the release. “Urgent care centres, such as the one in Airdrie, reduce pressure on emergency departments and help ensure Albertans receive timely, high-quality care closer to home.”
Other Phase 2 improvements listed in the release include six new treatment spaces, a dedicated dictation room, an expanded waiting area and additional triage stations.
“The Airdrie Community Health Centre optimization project reflects our commitment to providing Albertans with the care they need when and where they need it,” Preventative and Primary Health Services Minister Adriana LaGrange said in the release.
Bates said the upgrades provide more privacy and better resources for patients and staff, but Airdrie residents have pressed for a larger facility for more than a decade.
“Seeing that we’ve advocated so hard, and residents from Airdrie have advocated really hard, and we’ve been able to put Airdrie front and center to the government, it’s great to see that things are happening, although we definitely need more to happen,” she said.
“Through the years, everyone I’ve spoken with, including five health ministers … we know that government, health ministers and definitely AHS know what’s going on there, and they all know that Airdrie is the most under serviced community in all of Alberta when it comes to healthcare,” she said. “And so it’s not, shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but I think maybe sometimes quick wins kind of rule the day.”
She cited past assessments, including a 2013 urgent care report and multiple ministerial tours. “When I met then-health minister Jason Copping, when he did a tour with us, the first thing he said is … this isn’t sufficient, and we need a new facility,” she said. “My understanding from Danielle Smith, when we met with her not too long ago, [is] that this facility was not appropriate.”
Bates said the $8.4-million project covers the entire health centre. “The renovations are for the entire facility, not just urgent care. The entire footprint within the centre is being changed,” she said.
“This renovation, we were told, would get us through the next five years until a new facility could be built.”
The Airdrie Community Health Centre was retrofitted as a temporary site, Bates said. “It was only supposed to last two years before a new facility was supposed to be built,” she said.
She said the Foundation contributed to the recent upgrades. “The Health Foundation was able to fundraise $50,000 for cardiac monitors. I believe we got eight cardiac monitors in there,” she said.
The centre handled almost 40,000 patients in 2023-24, according to provincial figures. Airdrie’s population is 90,044 in 2025, according to the city’s census.
Phase 1 was completed in January 2025, bringing together public health, postpartum and rehabilitation services, the release said. Phase 3, scheduled to begin this fall, will renovate the old urgent care area to consolidate home care and add administrative, patient and support spaces.
Bates noted the project was delayed in January 2024, when the province told the Foundation renovations were “on pause” as the government considered “other opportunities.” The government later confirmed the work would proceed.
In April 2024, Alberta Health approved $85,000 for One Health Airdrie to co-develop a business plan for an integrated primary and urgent care facility. Budget 2025 included $2 million in planning funds for that project.
Bates said planning funds have not yet translated into construction. “I know things have changed now, as the One Health urgent care has been announced, although I don’t see that it has gone forward either. There’s $2 million for planning, but I don’t know when you will actually see that urgent care,” she said.
The province has also committed $15 million to plan eight new urgent care centres across Alberta.
“Upgrades like these make a lasting difference for patients, families and staff. From more private and comfortable spaces to modern features that support infection prevention and EMS transfers, these upgrades help ensure the community has access to care in a setting designed to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s demands,” Dr. Chris Eagle, interim CEO, Acute Care Alberta, said in the release.
Bates said the current upgrades bring short-term relief but leave broader needs unmet. “This really isn’t a long-term solution. We do need a hospital,” she said.
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