New pandemic ward at Peter Lougheed complete

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – After only 21 days, a new ward is finished at the Peter Lougheed Hospital.

The temporary building was donated by Alberta-based Sprung Structures and is ready should an influx of patients start to crush the health care system.

“We are thrilled and honoured to be able to give back to this great province that has treated us so well for over 133 years, at a time when we need it the most,” said Phil Sprung, President, Sprung Structures.

Thanks to our partners at Sprung Structures, Falkbuilt Technologies, CANA Construction, Botting Mechanical, Acutech Electric, WestJet, Stantec, Government of Alberta and the City of Calgary who worked together on this project. https://t.co/3C0Spi06DD

— AHS_CalgaryZone (@AHS_YYCZone) May 2, 2020

The ward contains 67 beds, half of which are dedicated to COVID-19 patients while the other half will be used as an extension for emergency departments.

“Currently AHS is able to meet patient demands within existing facilities in the Calgary Zone due to strong planning and actions taken to build hospital capacity,” said Dr. Verna Yiu, President of Alberta Health Services (AHS). “This initiative was undertaken to ensure we have capacity in the Calgary Zone in the event we see a spike in COVID-19 cases that require hospitalization.”

AHS said the temporary ward can be operational within 24 hours notice should the need arise.

Currently, 89 Albertans are in hospital due to COVID-19 with the province recording a total of 231 since the pandemic began.