Drumheller Standing Committee on Health is advocating to Alberta Minister of Health Jason Copping to make the Drumheller Health Centre a rural healthcare centre of excellence, and has the support of several surrounding municipalities.
Committee Chair Keith Hodgson presented the draft letter to Drumheller town council at the regular Monday, December 19 council meeting; the letter has already received support from several other municipalities in the area, including Kneehill, Starland and Wheatland Counties, and the villages of Carbon, Morrin, and Munson.
“In the past, in 2002 when the hospital opened up, it was identified as a regional hospital; as things progressed, through various changes in healthcare, it became more centralized and more centralized, and Drumheller was seen less and less as important to the big picture,” Mr. Hodgson tells the Mail.
In mid-November, new Premier Danielle Smith outlined priorities in a mandate letter to Minister Copping. Among these priorities, Minister Copping has been directed to “assess the effectiveness” of healthcare facilities, address staffing challenges in rural areas, and “take immediate, tangible steps” to improve emergency medical service (EMS) response times.
The letter notes the Drumheller Health Centre currently offers numerous services, including a 24-hour emergency room and a community cancer centre, to a catchment area of some 36,000 people. It is already recognized as a “rural hub for southeastern Alberta,” however, the letter also notes the operating room is under-utilized like many other rural hospitals and health centres.
By better utilizing the facility, it could help reduce strain on the ambulatory system by reducing the need for interfacility transfers.
Once an ambulance travels into larger centralized zones, such as Red Deer, they often get caught up in what is called “the vortex” where AHS dispatches the nearest available ambulance to an incoming call.
“That’s good for the person who needs immediate care, but it leaves the rural areas more exposed,” Mr. Hodgson says.
He adds, by better utilizing the hospital, this could also benefit the community by drawing more healthcare professionals to the area. The committee held a weekend program for fourth year nursing students in 2019 to highlight rural healthcare, and says the response was well received, with some five or six student nurses applying for positions at the local hospital who may not have otherwise.
“We just want to remind AHS we’re here, and we’re ready, and we’re able, and we’ve got the facility. With some better staffing and better training, we could quickly ramp up-it’s not like needing to take the time to build a new facility, because we’ve got the facility,” Mr. Hodgson says.
Council unanimously agreed to send the letter to Minister Copping.

Members of Drumheller Fire and Rescue got together on Wednesday, December 14 in honour of two retiring members of the East Coulee hall who, collectively, have over 100 years of service between them.
Frank Kalman and Bob Repas were recognized for their years of service to the community, and reminisced about some of the most impactful calls they have attended over the years since joining the department in 1973.
In 1980, Mr. Kalman took over the role of East Coulee Fire Chief from his brother, Steve Kalman; at the time, the department was under the jurisdiction of Improvement District No. 7. During his time as Chief, Mr. Kalman saw the Improvement District incorporated into the Municipal District of Badlands in 1991, and then saw another amalgamation with the Municipal District and the then City of Drumheller to form the Town of Drumheller in 1998.
He was then appointed as District Chief.
Mr. Kalman has spent his life in East Coulee and has raised three daughters with his wife, Donna, in the community. Now retired, Mr. Kalman and his wife relocated to the Red Deer area to be closer to family.
Mr. Repas grew up southeast of East Coulee in a community known as Western Monarch. His father owned a grocery store in Western Monarch and, when the mines began shutting down in the area, bought the grocery store in East Coulee and joined the department.
Bob soon followed in his father’s footsteps, and he and his wife Barb have been active community members over the years--from volunteering on the East Coulee Community Association, and leading fundraising efforts to replace the community hall after it was lost to fire around 1990.
The two reflected on some of the biggest calls they had attended, including the East Coulee Hotel fire in the late 1970s, and the fire that destroyed the East Coulee Community Hall, and the highlight of the community receiving a new fire truck in 1983.