If you’ve ever walked into an intensive care unit to see someone you love, you remember the machines.
The tubes. The screens. The alarms that go off while nobody seems worried. You want to ask what everything is, but the nurses are busy, and you’re scared of the answer.
Grande Prairie Regional Hospital is trying to make that moment a little easier.
A new mural at the entrance to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit shows the equipment families may see connected to their loved ones, with a plain-language explanation of what each piece does. It was unveiled on Sept. 24.
It’s the first mural of its kind in Alberta. And it may not be the last.
The machine families fear most
The mural shows all the main equipment in the ICU. The one hospital staff are most glad it covers is the ventilator.
A ventilator breathes for patients who can’t breathe well enough on their own. To a family member, it’s often the most frightening thing in the room.
Dr. Nathan Banda, the hospital’s director of surgical services, told EverythingGP that patients only end up on a ventilator because they’re very, very sick, and often aren’t conscious enough to understand what’s happening. Their families may not be able to explain it either.
Seeing the equipment on the wall first, he said, gives people some idea of what they’re walking into. That, he said, lowers anxiety, and gives families a starting point to ask staff questions.
Drawn to be less scary
The mural was conceived by Sean Bagshaw, a University of Alberta professor of critical care, and designed by visual communication designer Nicole Pernal.
Pernal said the challenge was drawing complicated, life-supporting machines with enough detail that people could recognize them, while giving them a softer, more human feel.
Bagshaw said the ICU is an intimidating, confusing place for most people, and he wanted something families could find calming. “The colours are soothing, the icons are simple, and the explanations are straightforward,” he told EverythingGP.
He sees it as both art and a teaching tool.
So does the foundation that paid for it. “This is more than just a mural,” said Sean Doerkson, CEO of the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation. “It’s a teaching tool and resource intended to help families better understand the equipment used in the ICU.”
What hospital staff hope it does
Dr. Tafirenyika Madzimure, an ICU physician at the hospital, said in an Alberta Health Services release that he hopes it brings families some comfort and understanding while their loved one is being cared for.
Banda said it also highlights the doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and other staff working behind all that equipment every day.
The mural isn’t meant to replace conversations with the care team. It’s meant to make them easier.
Edmonton hospitals could be next
At the unveiling, Pernal told EverythingGP there’s potential for three more murals in Edmonton hospitals, including the University of Alberta Hospital and the Misericordia Community Hospital.
None of those projects has started, and no dates or funding have been announced. But Pernal said interest is growing as more people learn about the Grande Prairie mural.
Paid for by local donors
The Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation funded the mural through community donations. The cost wasn’t disclosed.
Grande Prairie Regional Hospital opened in December 2021, replacing the old Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. Its ICU cares for the sickest patients from Grande Prairie and across northwestern Alberta.
For families arriving at that unit, the mural won’t make a serious illness less frightening. But it might make the room around it a little easier to understand.
Sources
New mural brings comfort to Grande Prairie families, Alberta Health Services, October 7, 2026
Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Update, Alberta Health Services
Comments
Conversation