Province and Airdrie Making a Great Start

I was very pleased to hear that the City of Airdrie and the Alberta Government have begun the initial steps in providing Airdrie with health care facilities worthy of that fast growing city.  A 24-hour emergency health care facility will be built in Airdrie using public and private money. 

I understand that the building will house 24 hour emergency clinic, doctors' offices, and medical related retail space.  Alberta Health Services will lease or buy one floor for its clinic, while doctors and retail space will occupy the other two floors of the building.   I also know that this whole project has come to fruition thanks to some local businessmen and, in a big part to a generous donation from an unknown benefactor!

This is wonderful news!   This will provide the 50,000-plus Airdrie residents - and the thousands of folks around that city - with a stop-gap facility, until the hospital is built.  

Now I'm hoping to hear soon that a site for the new Airdrie Hospital has been chosen.  I realize the hospital is quite a few years away.  Look at how long it took to create the South Health Campus in Calgary!

But that journey has now begun!  Well done Airdrie!

Airdrie Health Survey

Alberta Health Services has initiated an online survey to gauge our health needs in the Airdrie area!  I haven't participated, but I plan to in the near future.  Many of the folks hereabouts are focusing their efforts on the creation of a 24 hour urgent health care facility in Airdrie.  That's a good start!

But while this is an admirable goal, it falls short of what this area around the City of Airdrie really needs - and that is a full fledged hospital!  When I'm talking hospital, I'm not talking about a small hospital such as those we find in Three Hills, Drumheller or Didsbury.  While these are wonderful facilities for the communities they serve, they fall short of what this area needs.  I'm talking about a complete care facility - such as the general hospitals in Red Deer, Medicine Hat or Lethbridge - but one similar to the South Health Campus would be ideal.

I believe that Airdrie is the largest city in Alberta (and perhaps all of Canada) without a hospital!  For any kind of serious health treatment, perhaps more than 100,000 people in the area have to scamper into Calgary, to wait in the already crowded health system and facilities, there!  The good folks of Okotoks and Alderside now have a fantastic hospital facility - the South Health Campus - gradually opening up close to them at the southern edge of Calgary.  We on the north side must be second class Albertans?

We need a similar facility, built somewhere immediately north or immediately south of the City of Airdrie. 

I urge you all to participate in the health survey and let all of those who read the results know that we do not like being treated as second class Albertans!

Airdrie Needs a Hospital!

The City of Airdrie is among the fastest growing communities in Alberta.  But I understand that, with a population approaching sixty thousand, Airdrie is still without plans to have a hospital there!

I think that is ridiculous and disgusting!  Calgary has the new South Health Campus, which is a beautiful facility, but it certainly was never designed to help the folks from up north here - it's just too far away!  We need a similar facility built somewhere right around Airdrie!  NOW!

I've been told that over 1200 babies are born in Calgary hospitals each year to Airdrie parents!   New moms are transported down one of the busiest highways in Canada, to a hospital many kilometers away from their home communities.  New dads have little choice but to either get a hotel room in Calgary, sleep on the hospitals' floors, or commute from Airdrie to visit their new families!

What kind of a system is that?

Those in the Provincial government say that Airdrie's huge and rapid growth was hard to predict.  Well, predict it or not, it's here!  So what is going to be done about it?

I say let's shelve the "Big City Charters," for now and concentrate all resources on addressing this health care crisis in Airdrie.  I'm sure the mayors of Calgary and Edmonton would both agree that this is a much more pressing problem!   Our new Premier, Jim Prentice, must be made aware of this situation.  He's been too quiet on this crisis so far. 

What are we going to do about it?

South Health Campus is great, but it's no Airdrie Hospital

A few weeks back I had an appointment at the new South Health Campus.  This is the new Calgary hospital located in the far south of the city.

Getting there was super easy; south on Stoney Trail and follow the "H" signs as you turn west.

There was a huge underground parking facility which is very easy to navigate.  All sections of the parking garage are given names like "Mountain" and "Forest," so it's easy to retrace your steps back to your car after your appointment.

Once in the hospital I was impressed by the quiet, serene atmosphere of the place.  I also noticed the place was absolutely spotlessly clean.  There was cleaning being done all the time we were there!

This is one beautiful hospital!

However, there is one huge problem with it.  It (or one like it) isn't in Airdrie!