Premier Alison Redford was in Calgary on Tuesday to officially open a vital new care facility at the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Health Minister Fred Horne, Infrastructure Minister Ric McIver, and representatives from the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation were also on hand for the announcement.
“Moms and dads want to know that, if needed, their newborn will have access to the very best intensive care we can possibly offer. I hope today’s investment will give more parents peace of mind and more newborns a healthy start to life. On behalf of Albertans, I want to thank the Edwards family for their very generous contribution,” said Premier Alison Redford.
Construction of the new NICU began over two years ago, thanks to a $5M donation from the Edwards family of Calgary.
The new facility will replace eight temporary beds that began operating in 2011.
All 14 of the new beds will be designated as ‘Level 3’, which means they will be able to provide care for the most critically ill newborns.
For the Edwards, the project is very personal.
Their son was born prematurely and needed Level 3 neonatal care and needed to be sent to another part of the province.
“It is such a privilege to be able to help families and their newborn babies in this way. This is very personal for us, stemming from our own experience with our son who needed neonatal intensive care when he was born eight weeks early. We look forward to seeing how this new unit enhances care for these young patients, and helps create an environment that is better for staff and less stressful for families,” said Heather Edwards.
Currently, Level 3 NICU services are in place at the Foothills Medical Centre.
The Peter Lougheed Centre and Rockyview General Hospital have Level 2 NICU services.
The total cost of the project is $10.9M.
