Alberta to open ‘Pandemic Response Units’ as hospitalization peak nears
Posted January 20, 2022 10:30 am.
Last Updated January 21, 2022 11:44 am.
Alberta will be opening new Pandemic Response Units at a pair of locations in the province.
The new units are being brought in ahead of what provincial officials believe will be a peak in hospitalizations in the coming weeks.
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Alberta has surpassed Omicron case peak, hospitalizations to rise in coming weeks: Kenney
The Pandemic Response Units will be located in Calgary’s South Health Campus and Edmonton’s Kaye Clinic which are ready to start accepting patients in the coming days.
Alberta Health Services CEO Dr. Verna Yiu says 18 beds will be added at the Pandemic Response Units in Edmonton next week, then 18 again the week of Jan. 31.
For Calgary, 12 beds will be added in the same time period.
Kenney announces details from my previous tweet. That those 'Pandemic Response Unit' are opening for patients. They'll be used starting Monday, Jan. 24. They're at South Health Campus in Calgary and Edmonton Kaye Clinic. #abpoli #ableg #yyc #yeg #COVID19AB https://t.co/2rFeWVCLmo
— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) January 20, 2022
“We will only use these beds if we have to, and going forward, additional beds will be opened as needed and as our staff availability allows,” explained Yiu.
“This temporary measure is one of the initiatives that will ensure that our healthcare system can meet the increased demand from COVID-19.”
The PRU’s are temporary extra capacity beds that will be used to free up hospital space. Some surgeries that do not need intensive care unit beds may be postponed.
Major surgeries that require ICU beds will still proceed as scheduled as ICU bed capacity rates aren’t at imminent danger levels.
