November 1, 2022
Natural light from the courtyard brightens the Main Street of the new Grande Prairie Regional Hospital, which has garnered the 2022 International Building Award by the International Federation of Healthcare Engineering (IFHE). The award recognizes the importance of design in healthcare facilities to accommodate patients, staff and visitors. Photo supplied.
The presentation ceremony for the IFHE award was attended by, from left: Daniela Pedrini, IFHE past president; Steve Rees, IFHE president; Sabrina McCormack, clinical liaison, AHS; Gerald Palichuk, Alberta Infrastructure; and Adrian Lao of the DIALOG architectural firm. Photo supplied.
Story by Jason Morton
GRANDE PRAIRIE — It’s been almost a year since Grande Prairie Regional Hospital opened its doors to patients and the public. The beautiful building and its modern design have not only caught the eye of local and nearby residents, but of a prestigious international organization as well.
The Alberta Health Services (AHS) Capital Management team, which was heavily involved in the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital project, has won the 2022 International Building Award by the International Federation of Healthcare Engineering (IFHE). This award recognizes the importance of design in healthcare facilities that helps to accommodate patients, visitors, guests and staff.
“The recognition was a nice way to close out the project for the team as well as to thank all the contractors and staff for their hard work and perseverance throughout the project,” says clinical liaison Sabrina McCormack, a member of the team that worked on the project.
Some of the design features highlighted by the award include the hospital’s Y-shaped wing, designed to provide inpatient rooms with a view, bring in as much natural sunlight as possible and minimize walking distances. The hospital grounds also link to city hiking and biking trails. Inpatient rooms are single occupancy and offer a pull-out bed so a family member or caregiver can stay with the patient overnight. Designed to reduce noise levels, every room also gives patients individualized control over their temperature and lighting settings.
“The building has dozens of large nature pictures from the area that were submitted by local residents,” adds McCormack. “These images were selected by a working group of local staff and stakeholders and serve as a unique reflection of the spirit of the region.”
The building also provides many options to socialize or spend some quiet time alone including areas for families on the inpatient units, family lounges in critical care areas, a prayer and reflection room and two courtyards just off of Main Street.
In addition to the design award, many AHS buildings were recognized by the IFHE with Energy Awards for facilities achieving significant energy-consumption reductions.
“There was a lot of thought that went into the design of this building to ensure the patient, visitor and staff experience is the best it could be,” says Dean Olmstead, chief program officer, AHS Capital Management.
“It was a real team effort as input came from AHS staff, Alberta Infrastructure, the architects from DIALOG, the community and patients. This is really an award that everyone associated with the building should be proud of.”
