First patients served at new Grande Prairie Regional Hospital
CTV
After 10 years of construction, the $850 million Grande Prairie Regional Hospital (GPHR) opened its doors to patients Saturday morning.
After 10 years of construction, the $850 million Grande Prairie Regional Hospital (GPHR) opened its doors to patients Saturday morning.
The GPRH has 10 operating rooms, a dedicated obstetrics suite, and 243 beds, including 28 serving as a mental health unit and 32 acute care spaces, compared to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital's 181, the previous facility serving the region.
The new facility is intended to serve 11,000 inpatient and 65,000 emergency room visits, in addition to completing around 12,000 surgeries.
The GPRH will serve a catchment area as far north as High Level and into the North West Territories, with patients as far south as Grande Cache and east as Peace River.
"It is super exciting," said Stacy Greening, Alberta Health Services (AHS) Grande Prairie supervisor.
"We have waited a long time to open this facility, and it is just such a blessing for the community," she added. "I can't think of a better day."
The hospital is now one of five sites in the province to offer radiation therapy — a first for northern Alberta.
