No site yet for planned urgent care centre, Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA says

The Alberta government set aside $15 million in its 2025 budget to fund planning for eight new urgent care centres, confirming in March that one of the new sites would be in the Medicine Hat area.

All eight locations were picked based on current and projected increases in demand for less severe care at emergency departments, the province said at the time.

The government anticipates emergency department visits to increase by 27 per cent by 2038. But it also says that over 35 per cent of emergency hospital visits could be handled by urgent care.

Urgent care centres typically offer diagnosis and treatment, x-rays and lab testing. They can also typically take care of stitches, broken bones and other non-severe acute care emergencies.

Wright, who also serves as parliamentary secretary of rural health, said the nature of early planning means there’s no indication of where the new local centre will go.

“We’re in the design phase. They’re mapping out and finding out where the best location is going to be and really trying to make sure that they get it right the first time,” Wright explained.

Existing infrastructure, ease of access and other elements all factor into where the project will be built.

Dan Hamilton, reeve of Cypress County, said his municipality is interested in seeing the centre within the municipality’s borders.

“We are certainly receptive to the idea of an urgent care centre located within Cypress County, whether that’s in Dunmore or elsewhere,” Hamilton said in a media statement.

“Improved health care benefits everyone in our communities.”

However, a spokesperson for the county said the county as of Thursday had not received any formal communication from the Alberta government about building the centre.

The MLA said he wasn’t able to confirm a timeline yet but indicated it could be several years before a facility would be operational.

“If we look at the Airdrie urgent care centre, their first one was built in about five years by the time you got design done, engineering done (and) land acquisitions,” said Wright.

The county says it’s standing by.

“Cypress County remains committed to supporting collaborative efforts that strengthen rural health services and we look forward to continued dialogue with provincial partners as this project moves ahead,” Hamilton said.

Those who work in the health care industry will also benefit from a new centre, according to Wright.

“I met with some nurse practitioners, they were very excited about the idea of the urgent care centre because it gives them an opportunity to expand their scope with potentially new physicians,” Wright said from his office.

“There’s always a concern in regards to to whether this is going to take away access to other services, and that’s just not the case,” he added.

“It is very much just going to be a another member of the medical family down here in southeastern Alberta.”

by Olivia Thorington

No site yet for planned urgent care centre, Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA says

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