The Alberta Government announced plans Monday for a new $226-million children’s mental health centre to be built in Edmonton.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2021, with the centre scheduled to be completed by 2024.
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre will be funded with $200 million from the province and a $26-million contribution from The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The facility will be built on land east of the Glenrose Rehabilitation Centre, which is owned by Alberta Health Services.
The centre is expected to include child and adolescent crisis services, 101 inpatient beds, specialized outpatient clinics, a mobile response team, school-based treatment, mental health programs, therapeutic recreational programs, and a family resource centre.
“More than 90 per cent of donors and non-donors we surveyed in northern Alberta tell us that mental health is a top priority for them and their families,” Mike House, president and CEO of Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, said in a news release.
“When a child or teen is struggling with a mental health crisis, or needs specialized emotional supports, they need help as quickly as possible,” Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said in statement.
The design phase of the project is expected to begin in a few months.
Construction is expected to create 200 to 250 jobs.