Province sets aside $3M, but no timeline, to plan future Strathcona Community Hospital expansion

File photo of the Strathcona Community Hospital.

The Alberta government will begin exploring how the Strathcona Community Hospital in Sherwood Park could be expanded in the future.

A total of $3 million was allotted in Budget 2023 for the work, which will be done over three years.

"We need to do these needs assessments and this planning work in order to determine exactly what that scope would be and exactly that dollar figure would be," Strathcona-Sherwood Park MLA Nate Glubish told CTV News Edmonton when asked how much the province might be willing to spend to expand the facility.

"We don't have that dollar figure for you today and we don't have a shovels-in-the-ground date for you today, but this is a significant statement to say: The time is now to begin the important work of moving in the direction of expanding this hospital so it can meet the needs of this growing community, as well as to serve in a greater capacity in the Edmonton Zone."

The government officials who spoke at Wednesday's news conference at the hospital said it counts 46,000 visits in the emergency department, about the same number in its diagnostic imaging department, and 21,000 visits in its ambulatory clinic annually.

"What began as a dream more than 10 years ago has now become an integral part of our daily lives," Sherwood Park MLA Jordan Walker commented.

According to the Alberta Regional Dashboard, Strathcona County's population rose 1.16 per cent in 2022 to 104,300. Over five years, it has grown 2.81 per cent.

When the Strathcona Community Hospital opened in May 2014, the county's population was just under 100,000.

Forecasting the county's future growth will be part of the planning work, Glubish said.

Altogether, the latest provincial budget set aside $18 million for planning health capital projects.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Dave Mitchell