Chris Clegg
South Peace News
The light at the end of the tunnel appears near!
Alberta Health Servies announced Jan. 6 that construction is scheduled to start this month on a renal dialysis clinic at the High Prairie Health Complex.
Design is complete and construction of the new unit is expected to take approximately 10 months. Once the necessary staff are recruited and trained, and construction is finished, the unit is expected to be ready to begin accepting patients in early 2022. The community will be updated as more information becomes available about the opening date.
Currently, local and area residents need to leave the community to receive the life-sustaining treatment.
The six-station dialysis clinic will be open three days per week with the ability to treat 12 patients a day, in privacy and comfort, meeting the demand for service in the community and surrounding areas now and in the future.
“It is great news that construction is going to be starting very soon on this new dialysis space in High Prairie,” says Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO of Alberta Health Services.
“Dialysis is a life-saving treatment and, when complete, this space will help improve the patient experience for local and surrounding area residents and their loved ones.”
In February 2019, the Government of Alberta announced it was providing $5.2 million to AHS to build a new dialysis clinic in shelled-in space at the High Prairie Health Centre. The decision followed significant engagement with hemodialysis patients who live closer to High Prairie than to any other dialysis unit.
High Prairie and area citizens and municipal governments including First Nations and Metis Settlements, have lobbied for well over 10 years for the service.