Neurosciences ICU named for homegrown neurosurgeon

EDMONTON — University of Alberta Hospital’s neurosciences intensive care unit (ICU) is being renamed today in honour of Dr. Peter Allen, a retired local neurosurgeon.

“Peter was instrumental in ensuring the neurosciences ICU was part of the plan when they built the University of Alberta Hospital,” says Dr. Bill Johnston, Co-Medical Director at the University of Alberta Hospital. “There is no more fitting tribute than to name the intensive care unit which he helped build after the man himself.”

The unit, established in 1985, remains the only stand-alone neurosciences ICU in Canada.

“I’m very honoured,” says Dr. Allen, who retired in 2001. “It’s a trip down memory lane. A lot has changed since we opened with three beds in a sunroom with very limited equipment.”

Dr. Allen is one of the province’s first homegrown neurosurgeons. He was born in the town of Wayne and grew up in Coleman. He earned his B.Sc. and M.D. from the University of Alberta, and after training at the Mayo Clinic, started his neurosurgical practice at the University of Alberta in 1963. During his 38 years in neurosurgery, Dr. Allen was a highly regarded surgeon, instructor, and administrator.

He started Alberta’s first neurosurgery training program and served as the University of Alberta’s neurosurgical divisional director for 12 years. He was president of the Alberta and then Canadian neurosurgical societies, and was an examiner and then Chairman of the Examination Committee in Neurosurgery for the Royal College of Canada.

“His greatest legacy is his outstanding surgical and clinical service,” says Dr. Johnston. “He’s a surgeon’s surgeon – a master in the operating room, a superb surgical instructor, and celebrated by colleagues, patients and families.”

The Peter Allen Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit is an 11-bed unit where neurosurgeons, neurointensivists and neurosciences residents provide care for patients who have experienced spinal injuries, strokes, as well as those patients who require elective and emergency surgery, such as those with cerebral aneurysms or brain and spinal tumours. “The staff and supporting personnel must be recognized – they have been the ones to keep the unit going,” says Dr. Allen.

Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than 3.8 million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.

• News Release 

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