Health centre aims to take pressure off acute care

EDMONTON – A groundbreaking $4-million donation from a local family who wish to stay anonymous is fast-tracking the construction of a new family medicine clinic at Covenant Health’s Community Health Centre, the first phase of the innovative Covenant Wellness Community in southeast Edmonton.

The Community Health Centre, now under construction, is scheduled to open in fall 2025. It will host outpatient clinics moved from the Grey Nuns Community Hospital, as well as doctors’ offices, diagnostic imaging, and various health, wellness, and community services.

This shift aims to alleviate strain on acute-care facilities, allowing hospitals to focus on urgent and complex cases while primary-care services are delivered in the community, said Lisa Munro (pictured), president and CEO of Covenant Foundation.

“It takes pressure off of the Grey Nuns, and that’s how the whole vision really started — trying to take the capacity issues on the acute-care portion of the hospital, bringing that care into the community and giving them access to all the services, including primary care in one location. It’s really a game changer,” she said.

The donation is the largest ever received by Covenant Foundation and has helped expedite the project’s timeline, Munro said.

“This money is going towards specifically the Covenant Health Centre, which is on the Covenant Wellness Community campus, and because of their donation, the primary care clinic will open much quicker. That probably would have been a project that was moved in a later phase, but because of the generosity of their donation, that project is already under construction,” she said.

Patrick Dumelie, chief executive officer of Covenant, said in a release that the project is set to transform healthcare delivery by shifting care from hospitals to a more community-focused model.

“We want to empower people to live and age well in community, and this remarkable gift will help us achieve our vision and transform health care delivery,” Dumelie said. “By shifting to community-based care, we can make the health system more efficient, free up hospital resources and provide better access to quality care in the most appropriate settings.”

The Covenant Wellness Community stands out as an innovative healthcare model in both Edmonton and Alberta, said Munro.

“I think the approach of it is very innovative in the sense that it’s going to support living and aging well all in one location,” she said. “It’s the whole idea of a campus of care approach. So, shifting the focus away from acute care and treatment in the hospital to care based in the community, and that’s something that hasn’t been done before. And I’m hoping that the model will work and we’ll be able to duplicate it all across the province.”

The Covenant Wellness Community is a groundbreaking healthcare model designed to ease hospital pressures, enhance seniors’ care, boost the economy, and prioritize sustainability. By relocating outpatient services from Grey Nuns Community Hospital to a new Community Health Centre, the project will reduce non-urgent ER visits and free up hospital space for critical care.

An Integrated Seniors’ Continuing Care Centre will provide aging-in-place solutions, while multigenerational housing supports independent living. The development will create 600-plus construction jobs and 1,300-plus permanent positions. Prioritizing sustainability, the project repurposes materials, integrates green technologies, and promotes transit-friendly design.

Beyond this donation, the Covenant Foundation highlights the crucial role health foundations play in enhancing Alberta’s health-care system. While government funding covers basic care, foundations help accelerate and elevate projects that might otherwise remain just ideas, Munro said. This donation is proof of how philanthropy can transform health care by matching donors with a vision for change.

Covenant Foundation is actively raising funds for additional healthcare projects, including a rural simulation initiative to improve health-care delivery in smaller communities. The organization remains committed to listening to local communities and addressing their most pressing health-care needs.