August 6, 2021
EDMONTON – Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) will resume all pre-pandemic services at the
the Devon General Hospital after temporarily closing the site’s emergency department and transitioning 10 family medicine beds to long-term care (LTC) beds as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Both of these service changes were enacted as temporary measures as part of AHS’ evolving response to anticipated demands for acute care and emergency department spaces due to COVID-19.
The emergency department was temporarily closed on April 20, 2020 to help protect 14 long-term-care residents at the hospital, who were at heightened risk for severe illness if exposed to COVID-19.
These changes not only helped create acute care capacity at other sites that were able to transfer patients to Devon, but further reduced the risk of potential illness spread between patient populations by creating a single patient group at the site.
As the site slowly resumed emergency department services over the past year, a temporary barrier had been built to allow emergency department patients to access services separate from inpatient areas of the hospital.
Alberta Health Services continues to closely monitor the pandemic situation and remains ready to enact temporary changes again if necessary to protect patients, residents and communities. As COVID-19 immunization continues to roll out across the province, we strongly encourage people to get immunized as soon as possible.
For more information on the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta, visit ahs.ca/covid or alberta.ca/covid19.
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.
