Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital held an event on Friday to celebrate the completion of its new pediatric surgery clinic.
The newly constructed space was largely paid for by donors who contributed nearly $13.8 million. The province invested $4.85 million.
The new space, which has 23 clinic rooms, has a number of new features, including diagnostic imaging space so X-rays can be completed on site.
Christine Westerlund, senior operating officer at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, said the space is aimed at involving “the idea of taking the clinical scariness out of it and making it sort of feel like a fun place to be.”
“So even first thing when you come into the waiting room, we have bench seating,” she said. “Families like to sit together as a unit.
“There’s charging stations at some of the different seats and there’s play areas for some of the younger kids. And then as we go into the different care areas, you’re going to notice the different murals that highlight a lot of Edmonton, Alberta and Canada.”
Cameron Nagel is a Stollery patient who says he, his mom Dana and his sibling have been coming to the hospital for more than two decades.
“It makes me excited because this is more targeted towards both younger and older audiences, where the old surgery clinic — there was no murals or a TV,” he said. “It’s good because it can calm down the kids before … a scary procedure.”
(Paul Rampersaud/CBC News)
Dana Nagel said she was blown away by the new space, with sunlight pouring in through its big wall of windows, along with its comfortable seating and spacious rooms.
“Oh my gosh, we’re not going to have to leave Cameron’s wheelchair out in the middle of the hallway anymore,” she said.
Doors to the new clinic open officially on Monday.