CALGARY, ALTA. — After just three weeks of work, crews have completed a 766-square-metre field hospital at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, Alta.
The facility adds hospital capacity to handle high patient numbers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have seen countless examples from across the province of teams and individuals that have worked together and supported one another in ways both big and small to help in the fight against COVID-19,” said Minister of Health Tyler Shandro of the Sprung Pandemic Response facility in a press release. “This project is another example.”
If more hospital capacity is needed, Alberta Health Services (AHS) can open the 67-bed facility, which will act as a temporary emergency department to house patients with confirmed, possible or probable cases of COVID-19. The facility also has support space for staff.
“Currently AHS is able to meet patient demands within existing facilities in the Calgary Zone due to strong planning and actions taken to build hospital capacity,” says Dr. Verna Yiu, AHS president and CEO. “This initiative was undertaken to ensure we have capacity in the Calgary Zone in the event we see a spike in COVID-19 cases that require hospitalization. I’d like to thank Sprung Structures for its generous donation that will help AHS respond to this public health emergency.”
As of May 4, the province had 3,217 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Calgary Zone – 60 are in hospital, including 13 in intensive care.
The $235,000 building was donated by Alberta company Sprung Structures which specializes in tensioned membrane structures.
“We are thrilled and honoured to be able to give back to this great province that has treated us so well for over 133 years, at a time when we need it the most,” said Phil Sprung, president of Sprung Structures, in a statement to media.
Falkbuilt Technologies, CANA Construction, Botting, Acutech Electric, WestJet and Stantec were also involved in the construction of the field hospital, and the project was supported by the Government of Alberta, Alberta Health, the City of Calgary and various teams throughout AHS.
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