Peter Lougheed Centre's new Emergency Department opens

After years in the making and hours of organizing the complex, orchestrated move from the 35-year-old facility to the new one down the hall, the first phase of Calgary’s Peter Lougheed Centre (PLC) Emergency Department redevelopment has finally opened.
However, transitioning from the old facility to the new one wasn’t as simple as turning on a light switch. Everything from the glucometers to crash carts to the staff microwave and toaster - and bread - had to be moved to the new triage area and care spaces without disrupting patients or impacting staff. Some equipment was moved prior to the opening, but most of it occurred within a few hours, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29.
Barbara Hodgkins was the first patient transported to the new facility at 5 a.m., while the doors to one of Calgary’s busiest urgent care centres officially opened at 6 a.m.
Staff and first responders drew self-portraits and portraits of others on the walls and countertops of the old department to commemorate the occasion. Some wrote inspiring messages, good natured graffiti, and took selfies as a send-off to the well-used facility.
Originally opened in 1988, the old Emergency Department will be demolished and rebuilt when the second phase of the redevelopment gets underway this fall.