New emergency department opens at Edmonton's Misericordia Hospital

A new emergency room at the Misericordia Community Hospital has opened, a highly anticipated renovation of the 54-year-old facility that will almost triple the department's capacity for patients. 

The state-of-the-art, 5,500-square-metre facility will help ease the tremendous pressures felt by emergency departments throughout the Edmonton region, said Patrick Dumelie, CEO of Covenant Health, which manages the hospital. 

Dumelie said the previous department was designed to care for around 25,000 patients but was instead handling 55,000 visits per year.

The new $85-million emergency department has the capacity to handle up to 60,000 visits per year. 

"This new space will provide not only more efficiency but [also] a dignified space for care," Dumelie said Tuesday morning, moments before the department opened for the first time. 

Dumelie said the previous emergency department was cramped and outdated. "Obviously, technology and the health systems improved so much since that time," he said. 

With 60 treatment spaces — up from 26 — the boosted capacity will help reduce wait times and improve the patient experience, Dumelie said.

Specialized care spaces will ensure triaged patients move through the space smoothly and efficiently, he said. 

"Having that space provides a better care environment and less concerns about infection control," he said. "The whole space is designed with the patient in mind." 

Other upgrades include six ambulance bays, 64 treatment rooms, two radiology rooms, five isolation rooms, 18 acute care spaces and a decontamination suite. 

According to a statement from Lisa Munro, president and CEO of the Covenant Foundation, community donors contributed $2.3 million to help purchase specialized equipment and complete staff training within the new facility. 

The new emergency department was first announced in the 2017 provincial budget and work began in 2020. 

The old department continued to operate while construction was done on the new one, which is housed in a new wing built on the west side of the hospital at 170th Street and 87th Avenue.

Dumelie said the entire hospital is overdue for a major upgrade and completing the new emergency department is just the first phase of major, multi-year renovation planned for the facility.