In a couple of weeks, laboratory services in Grande Prairie will be moving to a new private facility. DynaLIFE Medical CEO Jason Pincock says the opening of the facility is a new chapter in the community for the lab services company, as a large amount of lab work at both the old QEII Hospital, and the new Grande Prairie Regional Hospital has been done by the company. With the province’s transition to DynaLIFE taking over all the physical sites, allowed the company to start supporting the Grande Prairie community in a new way. Pincock says there were several reasons behind the decision to move from the two existing lab locations to the new location, which opens on December 5th. The main points were the facility’s age, accessibility, and amount of space.
“They’re each at least ten years old, and they were designed at a time when Grande Prairie didn’t have nearly the population it does today,” Pincock says. “Having been in Grande Prairie a number of times and having to find those sites, they’re not always the easiest sites to find either, so that is not optimum for patients.”
He says that he understands the transition will be uncomfortable for the community because it signifies a large change, but the company has seen success in other parts of the province when it comes to mega-sites like the one in Grande Prairie. He explains in Red Deer, one site has served the entire population for several years, and only recently has there been a need to add a second site. However, he says the benefit to the new site that has been designed for the City of Grande Prairie is it’s on the ground level with lots of parking, it is just off of a bus route, with a bus stop right in front of it and easy to find. With having an entrance that is solely dedicated to the facility means that the lab can set its own hours, giving the flexibility to meet the needs of the community.
“It’s been a long time since there’s been an investment in the community lab service in Grande Prairie. So we are really excited to both expand the capacity and the number of patients that can be seen, bring new tools that will allow the community to not only make appointments but actually walk in as they always have been able to.”
One of the changes coming with the opening of the new community lab is the ability of being able to get into the walk-in line from home. Pincock explains patients will be able to text back and forth with the laboratory to find out what time they will be coming in and will then be able to show up at the time indicated in the text, ultimately cutting out hours of waiting in the lab. This also allows the opportunity for patients to stop by the laboratory, get in line, and then leave to go run errands, returning again at the time they are indicated.
“I think there are great things that come for the community out of this change, and these are not new novel ideas but things we proved in communities across Alberta.”
Pincock adds that one of the reasons the new location is where it is is due to its proximity to the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital. Being adjacent to the hospital allows patients who are being redirected the opportunity to drive right down the street and park.
“We intentionally designed it to have that proximity,” Pincock says. “The two existing locations are not currently easily accessible from the hospital.”
The new location has eight phlebotomy chairs, one ECG/phlebotomy chair, and four different bathrooms. The ECG/phlebotomy chair is also something unique to the new location. Pincock explains that this area will allow parents or guardians who bring young children with them to appointments a space to not worry about the kids running around the lab while they are in the chair. This area also will allow those who desire more privacy during their appointment just that.