Wabasca to open 15-bed hospital, will provide complete medical care

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A 15-bed hospital being built here will provide residents with complete medical care.

Work on the new hospital, expected to cost $6.3-million, began last October. So far, construction is on schedule and the facility is expected to be open February 1989, according to budget administrator Cliff Cottingham.

The facility has the potential to accommodate 10 more beds, over the above the originally planned 15, says Cottingham, explaining the expansion may be needed as the community grows. The one-story complex will feature such medical facilities as an emergency room, lab and a delivery room.

Cottingham is not certain how many doctors and nurses will be on staff but says enough funds have been set-aside in the budget to completely staff the hospital with a full-time core of doctors and nurses. He explains it depends on how many staff members they can attract to Wabasca. "We feel confident that we can attract at least one or two resident doctors," he concludes.

Wabasca currently has a clinic called the St. Martin's health center, which is open 24 hours a day. But, for serious and long-term medical treatment, residents have to travel 130 km southwest to a Slave Lake hospital.