StettlerLocal.com January 10, 2021 @ 8:46am
We have come a long way since the first Stettler Hospital was built in 1909 with 8-beds in a rented building to a 10-bed hospital in 1912. Today, the Stettler Hospital & Care Centre has 116 beds with a 24-hour emergency department and 26 acute care beds for a variety of patients, including pediatric, medical, surgical, obstetrical, and ambulatory care. In March 2019, a major renovation project for the hospital began in labour and delivery services, kitchen services and emergency services and will be completed by 2021. Over 400 people work at the Stettler Hospital and Care Centre in various capacities. This includes acute care staff, physicians, environmental services, food services, allied health, community health, home care, and several other departments.
The Stettler Hospital and Care Centre has one ventilator that is used to stabilize patients. Patients requiring constant/long term ventilation are transferred to Red Deer Regional Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the health centre has maintained its acute care capacity. Plans are in place to ensure beds are available, if needed, to provide care for COVID-19 patients.
Among Alberta Health Services’ capacity efforts, a number of rural sites have identified beds that can be used for COVID patients. They have temporarily converted acute care spaces in rural hospitals like Hardisty and Consort into continuing care spaces to create single patient populations in rural areas to better protect the most vulnerable.
AHS provincewide efforts to create capacity in care spaces, and staffing resources, remain ongoing. Labour challenges were anticipated during the pandemic as staff are forced to self-isolate, or care for family members. This will be an ongoing challenge across the system while COVID-19 continues. Recruitment efforts are ongoing to help maintain and stabilize staffing levels. AHS is working to fill full and part-time vacancies and their teams are moving through the hiring process as quickly as possible, especially in critical areas.
For more information on the Stettler Hospital and Care Centre services, visit https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/findhealth/facility.aspx?id=1000353
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Jody Craig, Reporter
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