SERVICES

The Alberta Children's Hospital offers excellence in patient care and research. The following services are located on site:

Emergency Department

Designed to serve 60,000 visits per year, the emergency department has 30 exam stations, including two dedicated exam rooms for mental health patients. There are two triage desks with adjoining exam rooms to allow immediate patient assessment. The four trauma rooms have built-in overhead x-ray equipment eliminating the need to transfer critical patients to Diagnostic Imaging (DI).The helipad, serviced by STARS Air Ambulance, is located within 60 metres of the emergency department.

The emergency department has a dedicated procedure room for minor procedures - allowing increased accessibility to trauma rooms for more acute procedures. There is a dedicated telehealth/teleconferencing room as well as a human simulator room for hands-on, real time training of internal and external staff.

Surgical Suites

The surgical suites consist of nine operating theatres, two special procedure rooms, five dedicated induction rooms with parent accessibility and 22 post-op recovery beds.

Operating Theatres including:

• one operating room with ability to accommodate interoperative MRI capabilities
• two operating rooms capable of handling minimally invasive SMART technology

Day Surgery

Day Surgery Unit has 36 beds. It provides a dedicated procedure room to allow pre-operation patient assessment and preparation, a family lounge, a breast feeding room, and lockers for parents that is adjacent to the Day Surgery Unit.

Diagnostic Imaging

Diagnostic Imaging is centrally located to the Emergency Department, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and Operating Rooms (OR). It uses full digital image reading to allow remote conferencing and faster electronic access to images in operating rooms and other critical care clinical areas.

Diagnostic Imaging includes state-of-the-art Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Computed tomography (CT) Scan technology. There are two units for nuclear medicine, two units for fluoroscopy, four x-ray units (one located within the orthopedics clinic), and six rooms for ultrasound.

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) has 20 beds - all single rooms with isolation capabilities. There are two overnight parent sleeping accommodation rooms with shower facilities. Five patient rooms have full dialysis treatment capabilities.

The PICU also features a dedicated procedure room for surgical procedures to minimize transporting critically ill patients to the surgical suite. This unit also has special treatment tub rooms for patients with minimal mobility and one palliative care suite with adjoining family support space.

Family and Community Resource Centre

The Southern Alberta Family & Community Resource Centre is one of the essential components of the Southern Alberta Child & Youth Health Network (SACYHN). The Network is committed to facilitating access to information as a way of building family and community care capacity across child-serving sectors.

The Family and Community Resource Centre is located on the hospital’s second floor and offers many programs and services to assist families during their time at the hospital.

For Clinical Support Services, contact the FCRC Family Support Specialists at 403-955-FCRC (3272).

Other programs offered include:

• The Child Health Computer Program, 403-955-2252;
• Child Health Information Services, 403-955-7745;
• Community Education Service, 403-955-7420;
• Aboriginal Liaison Service, 403-955-7034;
• Cultural Diversity Services, 403-955-7742;
• Therapeutic Clown Services, 403-955-7629;
• Family to Family Connection Service, 403-955-2456,
• FCRC Manager, 403-955-7762 or 403-955-7082.

Dr. Gordon Townsend School

The Dr. Gordon Townsend School provides programs and services to elementary and secondary students with mental health needs, physical/rehabilitation requirements and eating disorders. The population of the school changes drastically over the course of a year.  Although approximately 150 students receive programs and services, only about 40 students attend the school at any one time.

The school offers several unique programs offered in partnership with the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Health Region. Classes are delivered in a hospital setting with the goal of successful integration into community schools, as soon as possible.

Programs and services are provided by a multidisciplinary team that may include: education, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreation therapy, speech/language therapy, psychology, social work, psychiatry, and family therapy.

Spiritual Care

Chaplains at the Alberta Children’s Hospital are professionals who have received specialized education and clinical training in providing spiritual and religious support. They respect and have an awareness of spiritual values from various faith perspectives and cultures that allows them to openly discuss what is important to families and children from a spiritual and religious point of view.

Chaplains are available to offer a compassionate presence through listening, prayers, rituals and spiritual counsel within one’s own belief system in a respectful, multi-faith and nondenominational environment. Referrals can also be made to any of the religious communities in Calgary, if needed.

Chaplains are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. After hours and on weekends chaplains can be contacted in case of emergency through the hospital switchboard.

Therapeutic Arts Program

The Art Studio is a designated space for group and individual programming and is located on Level 4.

The Therapeutic Arts team offers a variety of programs including art and music therapy which provide the opportunity for self expression and creativity for children and their families. Special performances from community entertainers are also coordinated through this program. For more information please phone 403-955-2593.

Auditorium and Conference Centre

The conference centre at the new hospital is home to 15 conference rooms that will be available for Calgary Health Region employees to book. The 15 rooms accommodate various group sizes from 10 to 56 people.

At the heart of the conference centre is a 178-seat auditorium, which features comfortable, raised and retractable bleacher seating and has full wheelchair and stretcher access. The highlight of the auditorium is the 11 feet by 20 feet screen and high tech sound system that is comparable to many movie theatres in the city. Perfect for inpatient movie nights!

The conference centre was designed to have the ability to video conference from any of the 15 conference rooms regardless of space configuration with the use of the mobile telehealth carts.

Emily’s Backyard Child Care

Emily’s Backyard (EBY) is a play area at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, located just inside the main entrance. Both outpatient and inpatient families may access this free service for patients and siblings. Professional staff and volunteers engage children in fun activities in a safe and caring environment.

EBY is a friendly and popular play/waiting area where children can choose from a variety of activities including, arts and crafts, books, cars and trains, electronic and board games and everyone’s favourite Adrienne’s playhouse. This play area meets the needs of all age groups from newborns to early teens.

The Emily’s Backyard playroom is designed for a short-term (1.5 hours max) stay, and is not intended to be a daycare. Parents must be onsite while their child is visiting EBY. Since food and beverages are not permitted in the play area, please inform staff or volunteers if your child has any special needs (i.e. diabetic patient needing a snack).

To ensure space is available, it is recommended that parents call or email to pre-register their child. Children may be pre-registered up to two weeks in advance.

To register:

Please call 403-955-2500
or e-mail
eby@calgaryhealthregion.ca

Please provide the following information when booking: child’s first and last name and if they are a patient or sibling, age, time needed (max. time limit is 1 ½ hours), appointment location, patient’s name, name of parent or guardian bringing in child and any special needs the child may have.

Hours of operation:
Monday to Thursday 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

As space is limited for families requiring our service, please ensure we are notified of cancellations.

Emily's Window Gift Shop

Emily's Window Gift Shop is a volunteer-coordinated and operated store that sells toys, games, reading material, confectionary items and giftware for children and adults. Emily's Window Gift Shop accepts Visa, MasterCard and Interac.

Telephone orders are accepted (by credit card) for delivery within the hospital. Gift certificates are also available in $5.00 denominations.

The gift shop has donated over $1 million to the Alberta Children's Hospital to support patient care.

Hours of Operation

Monday to Friday: 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
(closed statutory holiday weekends)

Pet Visiting Room

The pet visiting room is a new space designed to facilitate visits between patients and their family pets. The rectangular-shaped room features washable surfaces (cleaned after each visit) and windows on three sides to provide natural light.

Pets are only allowed to visit with their own family members within the room. Restrictions apply on the type of pets allowed to visit. Children and their families can arrange for pets to visit the hospital through the coordination of nursing and child life staff.

Pet visiting room guidelines have been developed in conjunction with CHR Policy # 1285, Animals in the Calgary Health Region Facilities.

Telehealth

Telehealth videoconferencing is a technology that allows participants at different healthcare facilities to see each other, talk, and share clinical information on-screen and in real time. Telehealth allows clinical care, education and administrative meetings to occur without the inconvenience of travel for families and professionals.

Clinical Telehealth facilitates:

• discharge / transfer planning conferences;
• clinical follow up care;
• clinical consultations
• family visitation
• parent support.

Healing Gardens

The Healing Gardens is an outdoor space where children and their families, staff, and visitors can wander, explore and experience the therapeutic benefits of a healing, horticultural environment. The gardens provide a private area for reflection and discovery away from the hospital setting to regain a connection with nature.

Each garden has a unique design that allows children and families to explore nature in its various forms using interconnecting pathways.

The Children's Orchard provides an oasis for all visitors. It represents the certainty of nature's seasonal cycles and nurtures hope. The grid pattern of the apple trees represents order.

The North Garden is the most private of the gardens and serves as a respite, allowing families to share quiet moments. It is located near Emergency and the Intensive Care Unit.

The Discovery Garden was designed for rehabilitation, rediscovery, recovery and goal-setting. Located near the inpatient areas of the hospital, this garden challenges children to regain their motor skills. The garden features a sundial medicine wheel and a labyrinth.

The Backyard, the largest of the gardens, is a shared space for children, families, staff and friends. It is sheltered from the wind and captures the warm sun year-round. The Backyard features a greenhouse, tepees, a wheelchair-accessible tree house, walking paths and basketball courts.

The Suntree Garden includes a seating area and play equipment for children of all ages. It is located by the main entrance of the hospital.

The Spirit Garden features terraced gardens and potted plants and is a relaxing retreat for staff. It is accessible from the physiotherapy and neuropsychology areas on the Lower Level.

The Crabapple Courtyard is an outdoor staff garden featuring tables and seating for meal breaks. It is located next to Mental Health Day Treatment unit and the loading docks.

Mountainview Café

The Mountainview Café accommodates up to 300 people. The open-concept design offers a spectacular view of the foothills and the Rocky Mountains. It also features a sheltered patio, enclosed by eight-foot glass. The menu offers healthy food choices. Mountainview Café accepts Visa, Mastercard and Interac as payment.

Youth in Transition “Well On Your Way”

The Well On Your Way program provides services for youth with special health care needs as they prepare for the transfer from pediatric to adult medical care. Parents are also provided support with their changing role in their child’s care.

You can contact the Youth Transition co-ordinator at 403-955-7252.