Alberta Health Services has confirmed the date that Airdrie will receive 24 hour a day urgent care services in the city.

Mayor Peter Brown says AHS has set Monday, April 3rd to begin the long called for service.  Brown is ecstatic about the news.

"It's fantastic news.  It's been a long struggle for many years and a lot of people have contributed to this success.  It's peace of mind for a lot of parents.  We have a lot of young families here and to be able to take someone after hours and not have to drive a long distance to have medical attention.  It's very exciting."

The Airdrie Urgent Care opened in 2007.  Since Brown became mayor, the need for 24 hour care has been a focus for council, administration and for the community.  "The province has finally stepped up and recognized the need in the community."

The city of Airdrie will now work with the province in conjunction with the Airdrie and Area Health Benefits Co-op and it's CEO Dr. Tom Feasby for what's next for health care in Airdrie.

"They're in the community and they're getting all the information they need to build a facility here that would meet the needs of the community.  Certainly not a hospital, but we're hoping to have a number of different opportunites within the box.  Dr. Feasby has been working hard at it since January and building a plan.  It's community driven.   We've been told we're not going to get a hospital so we're looking at something that, hopefully, will be more effective, more efficient, provide better patient care over the long period of time."

Brown gives full credit to Alberta Health Minister Sarah Hoffman and her staff who came to the city to see for themselves the facilities that Airdrie had for health care.  "She toured the facility and met with community members to see how we could move forward with an initiative that was specifically for Airdrie and area."

Brown is grateful for all the community support and work that went into bringing full time health care to the city.  "I'm looking forward to going over there on April 3rd and bringing some muffins and some coffee and thanking them for being there."  

 

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