Officials unveil new expanded surgical suite at the Stollery

New expansion at the Stollery A new pediatric operating suite was opened at the Stollery Children's Hospital Friday morning.

After more than two years of work, a newly expanded surgical suite at the Stollery Children’s Hospital was unveiled Friday.

The Alberta government said the redeveloped space has five operating rooms, and two procedure rooms with modern infrastructure and equipment – the change comes following an expansion in hours for the Stollery’s short-stay surgical unit.

It’s expected the changes will lead to an increase of up to 2,800 surgeries per year.

The province also said the expansion was designed with children and their families in mind, a mother of a number of children who have had surgery at the Stollery provided input on the design.

“It’s challenging to develop a space that meets the surgical standard of care, but is also patient-friendly and will accommodate families during a stressful time,” Shannon Robertson said in a statement. “The family voice was respected through planning and interpretation. It was truly a collaborative process.”

The province said the $36 million project was paid for with $33.7 million from the Alberta government, and $2.5 million from the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation – it took 29 months to complete.

The expansion will be operational on Monday, August 29.