August 1, 2012

Red Deer projects on hold after builder goes into receivership

RED DEER, Alta.

Renovations to expand water treatment plant office and hospital surgery space in central Alberta are on hold after the builder went into receivership.

KT Construction Services Inc. was hired by the City of Red Deer to do about $1.1 million in work on office expansion and lab upgrade at the plant.

It is part of the city’s $55-million water treatment plant upgrade over the next several years.

Gord Ludtke, city environmental planning engineer, said agreements are put in place with companies tendered to do city work to ensure work is completed.

The city was alerted that KT Construction had gone into receivership on June 20.

Projects affected at Alberta Health Services (AHS) include renovations to move cataract surgery to Innisfail Health and Care Centre from Red Deer Regional Health Centre. The Red Deer hospital was also adding a fourth endoscopic suite to accommodate the colorectal screening program, as well as renovations to the hospital’s outpatient department’s main nursing station and patient waiting areas.

The cost of the Red Deer hospital project is $2.3 million. The cost of the Innisfail project was not available.

AHS said both these projects are to create additional future capacity so there is no immediate impact to patient care.

The projects will continue and additional capacity will come on stream later this year. Cataract surgery was expected to move to Innisfail this summer.

Kerry Bales, senior vice-president for AHS Central Zone, said work to convert the former operating room and patient room into a surgical suite, recovery area and outpatient clinic in Innisfail was nearing completion when it came to a halt.

“We’re hoping within the next few weeks to have a better idea what the time line will look like,’’ Bales said on July 20.

Surgeries were last done in Innisfail in 2006. Moving cataract surgery to Innisfail is one of the ways AHS Central Zone is increasing access to surgery.

It’s part of a $16.7 million plan to increase the number of high-priority surgeries by 5,000 a year in the province.

Until Innisfail is ready, cataract surgery will continue in Red Deer.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2012

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