Red Deer Polytechnic gets $8 million estate gift for health training
The donation from the estate of Rodney Ceccato will fund a new health sciences centre and a nursing scholarship endowment at RDP.
Why it matters
The funding aims to help train thousands of additional healthcare workers needed as the Red Deer Regional Hospital expands.
Red Deer Polytechnic has received an $8 million donation from the estate of Rodney Ceccato aimed at strengthening the healthcare workforce in central Alberta and across the province.
Half of the gift, $4 million, will support RDP's new Healthtech Centre for Applied Learning and Innovation (HCALI), which is expected to add 1,000 program seats and expand capacity across the institution's 15 existing health programs while enabling new ones. The remaining $4 million will establish the Rodney Ceccato Memorial Nursing Endowment, providing scholarships and bursaries for nursing students.
RDP president Stuart Cullum said the gift will create greater opportunities for nursing students and help the institution train the healthcare professionals communities need. The donation comes as the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre expansion, expected to open in 2030, is projected to require about 3,600 additional healthcare professionals.
Gwen Engman, executor of Ceccato's estate, said his own experience receiving cancer care gave him a deep appreciation for healthcare workers. In his honour, the atrium in the future HCALI building will be named the Rodney Ceccato Memorial Atrium, and the Learning Commons in RDP's library will be renamed in his memory until construction is complete.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.