Peter Lougheed Centre (PLC) is an acute care hospital in Calgary’s northeast quadrant, under Alberta Health Services (AHS). It functions as a centre of excellence in several specialty areas including hematology, respiratory medicine, vascular surgery, addictions and mental health. It offers 24/7 emergency care and supports both inpatient and outpatient services.

Services & Specialty Care

PLC provides a wide range of medical and surgical services. Key clinics / programs include advanced venous access, respiratory benefits / home oxygen, cardiology diagnostics, medication monitoring (anticoagulation), genetic cardiomyopathy, bronchoscopy, and vascular surgery. It also offers outpatient surgery, diagnostics (e.g. imaging, radiography, CT/MRI), maternal fetal medicine, neurology, internal medicine, etc.

In critical care, PLC has an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) that supports patients with life-threatening medical and surgical illnesses including trauma, with physician consult services, 24/7 code blue and outreach teams. The facility is sizable (over 600 beds according to public info) and handles large patient volumes.

Patient & Access Info

Address: 3500 26 Avenue NE, Calgary, Alberta (postal code T1Y 6J4). Switchboard: 403-943-4555. The site is accessible by public transit; has wheelchair access and lifts. Parking is available. Formal visiting hours have been removed for all Calgary zone hospitals; visits are instead guided by patient care needs.

There are many outpatient clinics and specialty services. Examples: the AADL Test Clinic (Home Oxygen / Respiratory Benefits), Abortion Health Services, advanced venous access clinics etc. Some services require referral; wait times vary. Multilingual services are often available.

Strengths & Challenges

Strengths include strong specialization in respiratory, vascular surgery, hematology, mental health & addictions; the emergency department is full-time; broad outpatient clinic capacity; and accessibility via public transport. The hospital has been modernized in parts, including East Wing expansions.

Challenges likely include pressures common to large acute-care hospitals: wait times in emergency or specialty outpatient clinics; capacity constraints in ICU / high acuity units; coordination of referrals; parking/transport logistics for patients; for some clinics, multi-week wait times for diagnostic services or specialized clinics. These are typical for busy public hospitals.

Recent Developments & Innovation

PLC serves as a centre of excellence in several areas, and supports AHS in adopting innovations. It participates in “hospital at home” style outreach for some programs; offers real-time wait times via AHS app; and has added or expanded certain critical care and specialty capacities over time.

Useful Tips for Patients & Families

When planning a visit: check for available services in advance (some clinics by appointment/referral); allow time for parking & transit; for emergency cases attend directly; prepare for multi-language communication if needed; use the AHS App to find location, ER wait times. For non-urgent care, outpatient clinics may have wait periods. Bring ID, insurance cards, etc.