New partnership builds a healthier future for rural Alberta

For families in rural Alberta, access to health care often means long drives and tough choices. A new collaboration aims to change that story.

Covenant and Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) have signed a five-year agreement that includes creating the Rural and Remote Health and Wellness Centre of Excellence at RDP’s main campus. This hub will focus on workforce training, technology adoption and applied research to tackle challenges faced by rural hospitals, including staff shortages and limited access to specialized care. Sites like St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Vegreville and St. Mary’s Hospital in Camrose will benefit from innovations such as virtual reality training and portable diagnostic imaging, improving care without adding travel time for patients or staff.

The reality for rural hospitals

In rural Alberta, healthcare teams often work with fewer resources and provide care over longer distances. Technology gaps make it harder to deliver timely services, and recruiting and keeping skilled professionals are constant struggles.

"We’re always looking for ways to grow our rural healthcare teams and services," says Lindsay Rypien, site administrator and unit manager at St. Joseph’s hospital. “This partnership will help us welcome more students and preceptors from different disciplines, which strengthens our team and supports recruitment and retention."

St. Mary’s Hospital in Camrose faces similar hurdles. "We serve a large rural area, and that means balancing high demand with limited resources," says Stacey Brewster, site administrator. “There is always the potential to lose existing programs if we aren’t able to maintain our workforce. Anything that helps us keep staff here and gives patients better access is a win."

Building capacity through collaboration

The new centre of excellence in Red Deer will lead research and training to strengthen rural health care. Covenant brings expertise in care delivery across Alberta’s four health pillars — primary care, acute care, mental health and continuing care — while Red Deer Polytechnic will contribute its healthcare and health technology leadership in education, training and applied research.

“Our partnership with Covenant opens doors to the development and application of innovative approaches for training, technology adoption and service models within rural and remote settings,” says Stuart Cullum, president, Red Deer Polytechnic.

Impact across Alberta

The new centre of excellence will design solutions that make care closer, smarter and stronger for communities across Alberta. While the centre will be based in Red Deer, its work will ripple across the province. For Vegreville, that may mean access to virtual reality training for staff, Alberta-made diagnostic tools designed for rural use and strategies to recruit and retain health professionals.

Stacey agrees the initiative will improve access for rural communities. “Allowing new learners to remain in their home community removes one more barrier to education,” she says. “This will be key in growing a sustainable workforce for health care, both improving and increasing access for Albertans where they live.”

The centre of excellence will add advanced tools and applied research to an already strong foundation, creating even more opportunities for rural learners and health teams.

Shaping the future of rural health

The partnership aligns with Alberta’s Rural Health Action Plan and its overarching principle of health equity and with Covenant’s mission to provide compassionate, whole-person care. By combining education, innovation and collaboration, the centre of excellence will help rural hospitals like St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s deliver high-quality care close to home.

"Rural communities thrive on forward-thinking initiatives, and this aligns with the work we’re doing now while paving the way for future innovations,” says Lindsay. "This partnership brings long-term benefits for rural communities and strengthens Alberta’s health system as a whole."