Memorial Hospital, 194-. Red Deer Archives, DA3052

The primary health facility for central Alberta started as the Red Deer Memorial hospital. In 1900, local residents wanted to honour three men who had died during the Second South African War, and a fundraising campaign was launched. Construction started thanks to community pledges, large donors including Lord Strathcona, and a loan from the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON), who obliged the hospital to hire its nurses as part of the donation. In the end, the board of directors did not raise enough money, so the Town of Red Deer stepped in to complete the project.

Red Deer Memorial Hospital (1904-1923)

In the spring of 1904, the newly built Red Deer Memorial Hospital welcomed its first patient, William Nelson Snider, who was admitted with typhoid fever. Before relapsing and ultimately passing away from the illness, Snider stated that:

“I have at different times been a patient in three hospitals, and I must say that never have I received better attention than here. Miss Wright is a matron of unusual ability and has an excellent staff of assistants. No one need be afraid to trust their comfort and their health in their hands.”

At the time, the Red Deer Memorial Hospital, located at 3942 50A Avenue on a 20-acre site on top of “Hospital Hill”, was modest but functional. It contained 11 private wards and two public wards, accommodating a total of 23 patients. The facility included a reception room and a spacious operating room, along with a well-lit attic used for dormitories.

Henrietta and Howard both studied medicine at the University of Toronto before moving out west, settling in Lacombe to start their practice. They moved to Red Deer when the Memorial Hospital was built and continued their practice in Red Deer until they moved to Edmonton in 1907. At the time of her graduation, Henrietta was one of a few female physicians in the country and was the first woman to register with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta in 1906.

The hospital board set admission fees for patients at $7 for public wards and $10 for private rooms. The board also set a fee schedule for the hospital's operating room. Patients were expected to provide their own medicine and surgical dressings. Some local businesses purchased a form of hospital insurance for their employees at $1 per month for each worker.

During the hospital's infancy, a number of local groups recognized the importance of supporting the young institution and contributed much to its development. The Hospital Ladies Aid and the Alexandra Club (a young women's organization) worked tirelessly to raise money and supply furnishings. They also served as volunteer nurses.

Ongoing fundraising needs led to the creation of two women's hockey teams, the Stars and the Skookums associated with the hospital. The teams competed in front of paying crowds, sometimes playing male challengers, with all proceeds going to the hospital fund.

The Red Deer Memorial Hospital was the only hospital between Calgary and Edmonton, so when it opened it drew patients from much of central Alberta. As the community grew, so did the hospital. In 1913, the hospital completed its first major expansion. This development added three additional public wards, two semi-private wards, and twelve private wards, increasing capacity to approximately 40 patients. The expansion also modernized the operating room including sanitary flooring, improved lighting, and the installation of an X-ray machine - the first of its kind in central Alberta.

Red Deer Municipal Hospital (1923-1965)

In the spring of 1923, the hospital facility was transferred from the City of Red Deer to the newly created Red Deer Municipal Hospital District No. 15, at which point it was renamed the Red Deer Municipal Hospital. This shift changed the funding model: instead of relying solely on city residents and patients, the hospital became supported through tax levies from surrounding communities, including North Red Deer, Penhold, Rocky Mountain House, Delburne, and Sylvan Lake, as well as surrounding counties, and was managed by a board

While the Red Deer Municipal Hospital District was concerned with the treatment of current symptoms, during the early 1930s there was a shift to preventative healthcare. In June 1931, the Red Deer Full-Time Health District was organized and comprised of the municipalities of Lorne, Golden West, Crown, Arthur, and Pine Lake; the towns of Lacombe and Innisfail; the City of Red Deer; and the villages of Blackfalds, Penhold, Eckville, North Red Deer, Bowden, Sylvan Lake, and Bentley.

As the population expanded, so did the need for health services. This district provided a wide range of proactive public health services including educational programs, sanitary inspections, medical examinations, communicable disease control, immunization programs, child hygiene initiatives, laboratory and clinical work, toxoid treatments, and tuberculosis control. The establishment of this district brought full-time preventative healthcare services, previously available only in larger centres, to rural areas and smaller communities.

The Red Deer Municipal Hospital had more renovations completed in 1939, 1952, and 1956, where new hospital wings, a third storey to house a nurses’ residence, and a separate boiler plant building were all added to better serve the growing community and its surrounding area. A north wing was built in 1960 to accommodate additional medical units, while the east complex housed the nursing residence, which remained in use until it was demolished in the fall of 2003.

Dr. Richard Parsons Auxiliary Hospital (1964-2004) and Red Deer General Hospital (1965-1977)

The original wing of the Memorial Hospital was eventually demolished to make way for the Dr. Richard Parsons Auxiliary Hospital, named after the local pioneering doctor. The auxiliary hospital district was organized in 1961, construction on this facility began in September 1962, and it officially opened on January 8, 1964, offering 100 beds for the 50,000 people in the region. The Auxiliary Hospital was built adjacent to the Red Deer Municipal Hospital on top of hospital hill. It was able to share many services and facilities with the Municipal Hospital such as steam heating, hot water, laundry, dietary services, pharmacy, X-rays, laboratories, and physiotherapy.

The Auxiliary Hospital’s primary objective was to serve as a “care, treatment, and discharge centre.” It provided patients with treatment, rehabilitation, and extended care, helping to ease the daily demands placed on the Red Deer General Hospital.

On January 1, 1965, the Red Deer Municipal Hospital was renamed the Red Deer General Hospital, a change that identified it as an “active treatment hospital” and reflected naming trends that were increasingly popular in Alberta.

Another significant administrative shift occurred in 1976, when the Red Deer General Hospital Board, Auxiliary Hospital, and nursing home boards were unified, leading to the creation of the Hospital Services Commission – one cooperative governing body instead of three fractured boards, collectively managing the new Red Deer Regional Hospital.

Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre (1977-Present)

In 1977, the Red Deer General Hospital was transformed into the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre after being designated a regional healthcare facility. A major milestone followed on April 30, 1977, when sod was turned for a new $43 million hospital north of the existing building. In preparation for the new facility, volunteers for the Dr. Richard Parsons Auxiliary Hospital and the Women’s Auxiliary to the Red Deer General Hospital merged in 1980 to coordinate fundraising.

The Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre officially opened on February 19, 1981, replacing the older general hospital structures.

In 1986, several major improvements were made. The hospital installed Alberta’s first CT scan unit outside of Calgary or Edmonton, making advanced imaging more accessible locally. That same year, new surgical equipment was introduced, allowing more procedures to be performed in Red Deer rather than requiring travel to larger centres. Additionally, an assisted unit was opened, expanding treatment options for patients with kidney disease.

Over the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Twilight Homes Foundation donated over $160,000 to the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre to support new equipment, programs, and expanding services. Through these contributions, the hospital was able to acquire specialized urology equipment such as a phaco-emulsifier and lithotripter, establish a Cardiac Telemetry Unit, and purchase infusion pumps for the cancer centre. Their support also helped develop key programs, including the Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, a three-month program where patients worked with physiotherapists, dietitians, and occupational therapists. In addition, funding provided in the early 1990s enabled the introduction and expansion of laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgery, allowing hundreds of gallbladder procedures each year to be performed without traditional open surgery, greatly improving recovery times and patient outcomes.

This movement toward regional organization continued, and in 1994, following a major provincial initiative, Red Deer’s healthcare facilities and services were placed under the authority of the David Thompson Health Authority, marking a new phase in centralized healthcare administration across the province.

 By 1995, with all these advancements, the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre had evolved into a large, modern healthcare facility providing a wide range of services. On an average day:

• 109 people visited the emergency department
• 46 patients were admitted to the hospital
• 5 babies were born
• 143 X-rays were taken
• 14 CT scans were performed
• 28 surgeries were conducted
• 2,740 laboratory tests were completed
• 53 patients received psychiatric care
• 48 people received physiotherapy
• 385 seniors received 24-hour care

Redevelopments

As modernization continued, older buildings were gradually removed: the main portions of the old hospital were demolished in 2005 after the new wing was completed, and the Dr. Richard Parsons Auxiliary Hospital—by then a 100-bed long-term care facility—was demolished in the fall of 2004, with the site converted into a parking lot.

In 2008, the David Thompson Health board was dissolved, and the Red Deer Regional Hospital was placed under the authority of one “superboard”, shifting from a separated regional health board to a unified provincial management.

In 2024, the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre started a major redevelopment that reflects its continued role as a key hospital in central Alberta. A $1.8 billion Government of Alberta expansion project is currently underway and expected to end in the early 2030s, involving both the construction of a new patient tower and renovations to the existing hospital building. The redevelopment will add approximately 200 inpatient beds, six new operating rooms, two cardiac catheterization laboratories, an upgraded Medical Device Reprocessing Department, and a new central power plant. It also includes the construction of a separate ambulatory care building to provide outpatient services.