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Thousands of beds to be added in continuing care facilities across Alberta

Bed at nursing home with nurse and wheelchair on background.

CALGARY — Over the next few years, more than 6,000 beds are set to be added to continuing care facilities across Alberta as part of the Affordable Supportive Living Initiative program.

On Friday, Health Minister Tyler Shandro provided an update on the continuing care situation in the province, announcing operators of some of these facilities will be adding publicly funded spaces to help with future needs within the system.

WATCH: Health Minister Tyler Shandro provides an update on continuing care in Alberta. 

“AHS received 189 submissions from eligible operators, and they’ve qualified 73 proposals in total, and that’s in 16 priority communities, as well as eight other communities throughout the province,” said Shandro. “And these projects play an important role in increasing continuing care spaces across the province now, but also into the future.”

Shandro says, subject to contracts, about 2,200 new beds will be added to the system, with 3,800 being replacement beds.

“When I mentioned 2,200 (beds) let’s also remember that we announced 2,600 new spaces last year, and out of that 2,600, 2,500 were net new spaces,” Shandro said. “So, we’re talking about here, with these further 2,200 net new spaces, we’re increasing the system which is 27,000 new beds, we’re increasing the system by almost 20 per cent.”


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Shandro says to support the initiative, AHS has allocated $95 million this year to operate the new spaces — while the provincial government expects to spend more than $400 million.

“AHS has moved forward to phase one of this initiative, with contracts that will provide 343 additional continuing care spaces in seven communities this year,” he added.

Five contracts have already been awarded and were fast-tracked during the pandemic to add capacity.

The 343 additional beds will be added to facilities in Calgary, Edmonton, High Level, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Valley View, and Westlock.

“Now, and in the years ahead, hundreds of Albertans will have a better quality of life, where they’re closer to family, closer to friends, but more importantly, in communities that they know, communities in the province that they love. We will continue to work with our health care providers, our health care partners to strengthen health service delivery, quickly and cost-effectively.”

The dispersal of beds across the province is as follows:

  • Calgary: 190
  •  Edmonton: 13
  •  High Level: 25
  •  Medicine Hat: 31
  •  Red Deer: 10
  •  Valleyview: 15
  •  Westlock: 59