Alberta plans to invest $330 million over three years towards rural health projects

Alberta unveiled a program in Budget 2025 that would fund rural health projects as part of a $330-million commitment to rural health care over the next three years.

The province announced at a press conference Monday that if Budget 2025 is passed, it will create a rural hospital enhancement program designed to improve rural health care facilities. The province has committed $15 million to the program’s planning funds. Rural hospitals are already being assessed to determine the best capital planning solutions needed for rural communities.

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Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said the program’s first phase will evaluate 20 selected health facilities based on factors such as age, population needs and available services within the area. Evaluations would be completed later this spring, with phase one expected to be complete by fall. Projects will be considered for design and construction funding as early as 2026.

“Having a program like this in place ensures an integrated, data-driven approach to health system planning,” LaGrange said.

When asked how the province plans to address the existing staffing shortages in hospitals, LaGrange said upgrades to rural facilities are needed in part to attract new doctors to rural communities and to ensure they have the “most modern equipment.”

Covenant Health CEO Patrick Dumelie said the province has had “huge success” with rural recruitment and has reduced vacancies by roughly 42 per cent across facilities.

“This is partially because of the fact that the government (has provided) resources that supported us to grow and retain our staff. But the infrastructure is equally important, both from the perspective of having space to deliver the care and it gives the kind of care environments that those people that we’re recruiting into rural (communities) will be proud to serve in,” Dumelie said.

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The remaining $315 million of the budgeted rural health care commitment will go towards existing health care projects and programs in rural communities outside of the program. These projects include:

• $25 million to complete projects under the rural health facilities revitalization program
• $20 million in planning funds for primary care centres
• $80 million to develop the La Crete Maternity and Community Health Centre
• $1 million in planning funds for the Cardston Health Centre
• $18 million to fund furnishings, equipment and information technology infrastructure for the Mountview Health Complex in Beaverlodge
• $170 million in capital lease costs for the Mountview facility

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