EDMONTON -- Newborn babies with additional medical needs who are born in St. Albert can now receive care closer to home thanks to an expansion by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. The Stollery will open a neonatal intensive care unit at the Sturgeon Community Hospital next Monday.
The $2.3 million project has been funded by the provincial government, with an additional $2 million from the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation for staff training and state-of-the-art equipment.
“This is a great day for St. Albert and for all the parents raising their families in this vibrant, growing community,” Tyler Shandro, Alberta’s Minister of Health said in a written release. “Our government is committed to ensuring Albertans receive as much of their care as possible in their own communities. Thank you to Alberta Health Services and the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation for investing in Alberta families and our youngest patients.”
About 3,000 babies are born at the hospital every year. Currently, those newborns who need NICU care were transferred to one of four Edmonton hospitals with a NICU, including the University of Alberta, Royal Alexandra, Misericordia and Grey Nuns hospitals.
The NICU at the Sturgeon will include six patient beds, with two private rooms and a four-bed room. The unit will be able to provide care for infants as young as 32 weeks gestation.
The rooms will be equipped with fridges for breastmilk storage, breast pumps, massage recliners, televisions and cameras that allow parents to see their babies when they can’t be at their bedside. The private rooms will also have sofa beds that comfortably sleep two people.
“When critically ill newborns can receive care closer to home, their families can stay in their community, closer to their support systems,” said Dr. Verna Yiu, President and CEO of Alberta Health Services.
“Our staff and physicians will be able to provide the best care possible, helping make families more comfortable during their baby’s stay in the hospital.”
