Edmonton’s Glenrose Hospital to replace therapeutic pool that closed in 2024

Patients at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Centre are expected to have a therapy pool again in 2028 after the province committed $3.25 million for the project.

Edmonton’s Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital is getting a new therapeutic pool to replace the one that closed just over a year ago.

The Alberta government and the hospital foundation are each contributing $3.25 million to fund its construction, the province said in a Wednesday media release.

The hospital closed the former therapeutic pool in November 2024 because of structural and safety concerns. It had opened in 1966. Ongoing work to maintain the pool over the years had required routine closures and extensive, costly repairs. Before it closed, it was used by more than 6,000 patients per year, with 20 per cent of them coming from outside Edmonton.

• Download our app to get Edmonton alerts on your device

Mark Korthuis, the president and chief executive officer of the Glenrose Hospital Foundation, said Wednesday that patients, families and clinicians “need this pool for the rehabilitation journey.”

“Some aren’t able to participate in land-based activities like you normally would want to in rehabilitation, so having an aquatic therapy pool to support rehabilitation is critically important for this hospital and for the patients that access the services,” Korthuis told CTV News Edmonton.

Korthuis said the foundation will soon begin fundraising efforts to raise its portion of the new pool’s price tag, adding that announcements of major donors and a fundraising gala can be expected soon.

The province’s contribution will come through its capital maintenance and renewal program.

The new pool is expected to open by 2028.

“The people who know about the Glenrose, and know about how critically important aquatic therapy is for patients who have very complex conditions, know that fundraising for it is going to be something that we need to do,” Korthuis said. “It’s not a nice-to-have. It’s an essential service for the hospital and for the province.”

Staff at the Glenrose provide specialized physical rehabilitation and therapeutic services for patients in 16 clinical disciplines.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Marek Tkach