It'll be about 2 months until the new Advanced Ambulatory Care Service starts accepting patients at the Sylvan Lake Community Health Centre.

Alberta Health Services provided an update today, which includes a slight delay, moving their May opening to early June as a result of a supplier’s ability to manufacture and install a key piece of air handling equipment.

AHS Spokesperson Andrea Thain Liptak says some other key work outside of construction is happening right now, as they start to educate area residents about the new service being available soon.

“We’re working closely with stakeholders in the community around messaging, and so we have a communications plan that we have been rolling out and it’ll certainly ramp up as we get closer to our go live date.  It’s just going to help the community understand what the service is and what the service isn’t, when we’ll be offering it, why should they come there and so we’re working closely with the community to roll out that campaign”.

She adds they'll soon have a number of new staff in place to run the facility.

“We’ve hired a Manager and a Nurse Educator so far, we’re also hiring a compliment of nursing staff, and so those positions have been posted and I believe will be being filled over the next couple of weeks and then we have some new unit clerk positions as well that if they’re not posted yet, they will be this week, so recruiting a couple of additional front line administrative positions to support the service as well”.

Local physicians are committed to providing the physician service component at the Advanced Ambulatory Care Service which will be available 7 days a week from 7:30 am-10 pm, with the ability to diagnose and treat, urgent, but non-life threatening conditions, taking some strain off of the Red Deer Regional Hospital and neighbouring rural emergency departments.