Alberta getting $595M lab building

By Gillian Slade on July 31, 2018.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com  @MHNGillianSlade

A provincial laboratory organization, to be a subsidiary of Alberta Health Services, has appointed its first CEO, and its new premises slated for Edmonton will cost nearly $600 million.

Alberta Public Labs will deliver all laboratory services for Alberta.

The new laboratory hub in Edmonton is being constructed on 5.8 hectares of provincially-owned land, valued at $30 million, near the University of Alberta’s south campus to allow for more integration capacity and efficiency.

A budget of $20 million for planning and design was announced last December with construction to commence in 2019.

“The project budget for the new facility is $595 million,” said a spokesperson for AHS in an email.

The new organization and central hub will mean quicker lab test results.

“Building an integrated, publicly-delivered, provincial lab service means Alberta patients and their health-care teams will have more seamless and quicker access to test results,” says Minister of Health Sarah Hoffman. “I’m proud our government is building a better system by creating Alberta Public Labs and look forward to achieving further milestones on this project.”

The AHS board announced last week the appointment of Craig Ivany as CEO, effective Sept. 24. His base salary will be $330,000.

His 30-year career in health care includes being CEO of the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association.

“I want to congratulate Mr. Ivany on his appointment,” said AHS board chair Kinda Hughes. “He has an impressive track record of health-care leadership, and he will help to ensure Albertans have access to high quality laboratory services.”

Exactly what APL’s operating budget will be is not yet known, but the current budget is a guide.

“The current budget for consolidated lab services (today) is $278 million,” an AHS spokesperson wrote in an email. “We will be finalizing programs for the site over the coming years for the opening in 2022, but this budget will be used as a baseline for the site/zone.”

There will not be any new jobs created by APL.

“Consolidation of staff, existing programming and staff in current facilities will be redirected to work in the new location,” AHS says.

The establishment of APL is a result of recommendations made by the Health Quality Council of Alberta in its 2016 review of lab services to improve the provincial healthcare system. It called for a new laboratory building in Edmonton, integrated lab services for the province and a single laboratory information system across Alberta.

The review followed the provincial government’s August 2015 decision to cancel plans to privatize lab services.

In the 2017 budget, the province committed to funding the new lab services facility. To ensure there was no gap in services, AHS extended an agreement with DynaLIFE to continue its services until 2022.

19
-18