June 20, 2025
The Stollery NICU clinical nurse educator team was instrumental in helping nurses transfer the responsibility of preparing infant feeds at the bedside to working with the new Stollery NICU Milk Bar workers. Photo by Evan Isbister.
A brand-new position was created within AHS’ patient food services team for the opening of the Stollery NICU Milk Bar at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Since March 31, eight milk room workers have been working seven days a week to process and prepare feedings for preterm and sick babies. Photo by Evan Isbister.
After spending two months in the Stollery NICU at the Royal Alex with her son Shiloh, Madison Prah was happy to see the Stollery Milk Bar open — meaning her breast milk was being prepared and stored in the safest environment possible — and nurses could spend more time at the bedside providing direct patient care. Photo by Evan Isbister.
Story by Sharman Hnatiuk | Photos & video by Evan Isbister
EDMONTON — When Madison Prah spotted the freshly painted baby blue and white signage for a new Stollery Milk Bar on the walls next to the Stollery Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, she wondered if a new café was opening. Instead, she learned the space was a new lab designed to support the NICU for all infant feeding needs, including for her son.
For Prah, being able to provide milk for her son Shiloh — who was born weighing just over one pound in January at 25 weeks — felt like the most important role she had during their 100-plus-day stay in the Stollery NICU at the Royal Alex.
“As a mother in the NICU, you want to know that your milk is being taken care of because it is so important for the nutrition of your baby,” says Prah. “To learn dedicated staff are preparing exactly what your baby needs in such a clean and sanitized environment alleviates some of the stress of being here. It also means the nurses can spend more time directly caring for Shiloh, instead of having to portion out milk at the bedside.”
Since March 31, eight milk room staff have been working seven days a week to process and prepare feedings for preterm and sick babies in the NICU who have compromised immune systems. Staff in the milk room have received specialized training in feeding order basics, sanitation and infection control, as well as human milk and formula management and storage.
“Previously, NICU nurses were responsible for preparing infant feeds at the bedside, which is a busy environment with infection, prevention and control challenges,” says Heather Chinnery, manager, Advanced Practice Nursing, Stollery NICU at the Royal Alex.
“Some staff were spending upwards of 20 per cent of their time on milk preparation. Now, thanks to the milk bar team, our NICU nurses can spend more time providing direct nursing care to their fragile patients.”
The Stollery NICU Milk Bar is the first centralized milk room in the province. It was made possible following years of collaborative planning between Stollery NICU clinical staff and Royal Alex Patient Food Services.
As well, a $750,000 grant from the federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program was used to renovate and equip the new kitchen space.
On average, 90 per cent of the patients on the 69-bed Stollery NICU receive breast milk, while the remainder rely on fortified formula.
“Previously, one part-time worker managed specialty formula storage and preparation for NICU patients,” says Shannon Rendall, director of Patient Food Services at the Royal Alex.
“Now, thanks to this collaborative effort, our team of milk room workers will take on the additional responsibility of the storage, preparation and nutritional fortification of breast milk and donor human milk in this newly constructed, state-of-the-art, centralized milk room.”
