Hospital services in Fort McMurray being phased in as residents get set to return
First phase includes emergency department, diagnostic imaging, lab, some pharmacy and nutrition services
The Northern Lights Regional Health Centre in Fort McMurray will reopen in phases as plans move ahead to bring displaced residents back into the city beginning on Wednesday.
"The first phase is the ED (emergency department), along with supporting services, such as diagnostic imaging, lab, and some pharmacy and nutrition services. That will be this week," Kerry Williamson, spokesperson for Alberta Health Services, said in an email Monday.
Those services are already available at the mobile, urgent-care centre that has been set up in the parking lot of the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre at Keyano College.
That tent facility has an operating room, an anesthesiologist, an obstetrician capable of doing surgery, and a general surgeon.
Opening the emergency department at the hospital will add capacity, said Williamson.
He said the phased reopening meets one of the five conditions set by the Alberta government and emergency officials for the re-entry, which is that the hospital is open and able to provide basic health services.
Most of the other areas and services of the hospital are scheduled to reopen around June 21.