The province unveiled its plans for Calgary’s new cancer centre on Thursday and when the state-of the art facility is complete it will centralize care, education and research for cancer patients.
Premier Rachel Notley revealed plans for the centre at a news conference in Calgary and said it is long overdue.
“Our government is working to make life better for Albertans, that’s why we are investing in new schools, hospitals, personal care homes, and this long-overdue cancer centre for patients and families in Calgary and Southern Alberta. I’m so proud to see this badly needed new Cancer Centre take its next step,” said the premier.
The Calgary Cancer Centre will have 160 in-patient beds, over 100 chemotherapy chairs and 12 radiation vaults.
It will also house outpatient facilities, support services and research labs and a new underground parking lot is also planned, which will have more than 1600 stalls.
The Tom Baker Cancer Centre and Holy Cross clinics receive more than 200,000 visits yearly and that number is expected to rise.
“Cancer is a growing issue. One in three of us will get diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime and currently, looking at how the numbers are increasing, which are increasing by about five percent per year, we will not have the capacity to deliver that care in the short term at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre so this centre allows us the flexibility, allows us the opportunity and the capacity to meet that challenge for many, many decades to come,” said Dr. Sunil Verma, Medical Director, TBCC.
PCL Construction Management has been chosen to design and build the facility.
The Calgary Cancer Centre will cost $1.4 billion to construct and is scheduled to open to the public in 2023.
