2022 highlights
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Staying true to our mission
As we look back at the last year, we recognize that our legacy of service, our mission and our dedication to serving those in need — especially those most vulnerable — have been integral in our response to the pandemic. The strength of our mission-inspired culture has allowed us to consistently and tirelessly serve our patients and residents while continuing to take care of ourselves and each other. We believe that the true strengths of our organization are our skilled and committed teams.
Recognizing diverse and ever-changing needs, we have developed additional resources to support our teams in creating a safe, healthy and inclusive environment.
Advancing diversity and inclusion
As a provider of compassionate and holistic care, we are committed to diversity and to inclusive practices, and this commitment extends to our staff, physicians and volunteers. To that end, we have developed a plan and approach to acknowledge and address systemic racism at Covenant, informed in part by open and meaningful discussions with our stakeholders. Engaging with Indigenous communities to establish long-term positive relationships is another crucial component of our Diversity and Inclusion Framework.
This year on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30, we lowered the flags at our sites to half-mast in recognition of the day. We also honoured this important day with opportunities for reflection and education for our staff and physicians by providing resources carefully curated by our Indigenous Advisory Body. In addition, we have created land acknowledgment signage for all the front entrances and emergency departments in Covenant facilities.
Misericordia Community Hospital’s emergency department update
Construction of the new emergency department (ED) at the Misericordia Community Hospital started in the summer of 2020 and is expected to be completed in early fall 2023. Funded by the Government of Alberta, it is a capital project for Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Health led by Alberta Health Services (AHS) as the provincial health authority and Covenant Health as the service provider and operator.
The $65-million ED is designed to meet the needs of communities in west Edmonton and northern Alberta for generations to come and will benefit Albertans by enhancing delivery of care while also addressing service pressures in the Edmonton Zone. The innovative facility has a patient-centred design that incorporates architectural best practices.
A new training lab within the ED that is part of AHS’s eSim Provincial Simulation Program will also provide many opportunities for clinical educators to deliver interactive educational programming for healthcare workers using specialized simulation equipment.
Launching Connect Care in Banff
Connect Care is a bridge between information, healthcare teams, patients and the future. Its foundation is a common clinical information system that will directly impact everyone who provides patient care within Alberta. By having only one complete record for each patient, healthcare providers across the province can share information and collaborate to provide consistent practices and a seamless experience for patients, residents and their families.
Connect Care was launched at the first Covenant site — the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital — in May 2022. The new system gives healthcare professionals in Banff access to their patients’ full medical history, no matter where in Alberta they are visiting from. Covenant Health is working closely with Alberta Health Services to support ongoing engagement in all levels of this initiative.
Connect Care launches will continue throughout the province to the end of 2024.
Continuing to grow our family in La Crete
On April 3, 2022, the Government of Alberta announced that it is providing a total of $79 million for the new La Crete Maternity and Community Health Centre, including $46 million in support over three years from budget 2022.
This centre will replace the current Alberta Health Services (AHS) facility, which has outgrown its space, boosting access to mental health, primary and allied health care, as well as maternity services in the young, growing community. Once the new facility is constructed, AHS will contract Covenant Health to operate the facility.
Opening a new Covenant Care site in Lethbridge
Located in Garry Station, West Lethbridge, Buffalo Grace Manor is a 102-bed supportive living centre that opened in late fall 2022. Purpose-built to provide resident-centred care — including dementia care — the state-of-the-art facility offers a mix of designated supportive living spaces and will assist in taking pressure off local acute care services.
The three-story home features natural light, a chapel, an outdoor patio and a garden. Each floor contains two wings of 17 suites arranged in homelike groupings with family-style dining, salon and common areas to promote community interaction. The facility is designed for maximum flexibility and adoption of higher levels of care, meaning residents can stay at Buffalo Grace Manor as their needs change.
The name Buffalo Grace Manor was approved by the Covenant Care Board of Directors after consulting with members of the community, the local Covenant Care Community Board and knowledge keepers from the Blackfoot Nation as part of the Covenant family’s commitment to reconciliation.
Unveiling our Covenant Wellness Community
We unveiled our plan for our new wellness community on February 15, 2022, alongside former Premier Jason Kenney, Minister of Health Jason Copping and former Minister of Labour and Immigration Tyler Shandro.
Located in the heart of Mill Woods, the Covenant Wellness Community will be a health and wellness hub that uses innovative designs to provide person-centred care to patients, residents and families of all backgrounds. Built on Covenant’s 11.2-acre Southeast Campus site, the Covenant Wellness Community will serve southeast Edmontonians, relieving hospital pressures and enabling seniors to remain healthy and active as they age.
Phase 1 construction began in the fall of 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2025. It will offer more than 75,000 square feet of space for comprehensive health services, including outpatient clinics relocated from the Grey Nuns Community Hospital, conference and educational space, doctors’ offices, lab services and medical imaging, as well as multigenerational housing and an integrated seniors’ centre.
Co-leading COURAGE: Action for Better Aging
Over the last several months, Covenant has co-led with SE Health — and collaborated with leaders across the country — the national initiative COURAGE: Action for Better Aging.
COURAGE invites Canadians with an interest in healthy aging to reimagine aging, spark innovation and forge an action plan for change. It takes an evidence-informed look at the unsustainability of our current approach to aging and the possibilities for change, with the objective of developing an actionable roadmap through consensus around better aging.
Since November 2021, COURAGE has engaged with a wide variety of people and organizations to explore insights, information, perceptions, advice and experiences of the current approach to aging in Canada and to identify the most promising opportunities and ideas for a roadmap for change.
As we reimagine aging in Canada, COURAGE will be hosting a summit, offering opportunities for changemakers to come together as we create a new vision for living.
Creating Compassionate Communities
Covenant’s Palliative Institute serves as a knowledge broker and problem solver for patients, families, clinicians, policymakers, caregivers and researchers and leads informed public conversation about palliative and end-of-life issues. The institute advocates for a robust national palliative and end-of-life care system that increases palliative care capacity to address gaps in service within Canada and works to increase public understanding of palliative care and to equip every Albertan to carry out health, legal and personal planning. This is being accomplished through a combination of policy development, educational initiatives, research and community outreach.
One such initiative includes Compassionate Alberta. The Compassionate Communities movement aims to build local networks of support that complement health services and expand community capacity to care for people facing life-limiting illness. By engaging community-based partners and stakeholders, we will improve public understanding and access to palliative care and advance care planning resources in Alberta.
The Palliative Institute has been awarded over $7 million through three different grants: Palliative Care Public Awareness, Advance Care Planning Alberta and Alberta Palliative Care Competencies and Education.