Cold Lake makes best use of space

Reducing overcrowding & improving access

There is now more space, and more beds, in the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre emergency department.

In many of Alberta’s northern communities, increasing population rates mean congestion in emergency rooms. Cold Lake has a population of 14,000 residents and last year there were 33,000 visits to their health centre. That’s the equivalent of almost 2.4 visits annually by every resident in the community.

“There were patients sitting in the hallways in the emergency treatment area because the waiting room was full,” says Genevra Beck, Alberta Health Services’ director of community and rural hospitals for northeast Alberta.

Many of the people waiting at emergency weren’t there for emergency services; instead, they were there for day surgery preparation and recovery.

Centre staff looked for a solution and identified an underused area on the third floor as an option. Recently, they relocated day surgery patients there and the results were immediate – it has reduced emergency overcrowding and also freed up five emergency beds.

A review of this plan begins in April 2010, but facility manager Jim Murray says staff have already noticed a difference.

“It has opened up additional space in emergency, operating room staff like the move because it reduces transport time, and anesthetists are now in close proximity to the recovery area. All in all, we consider it a definite improvement and a success,” he says.

>> Read more about our Action On: Emergency initiatives.