Stollery gets global recognition for life support program

AHS facility the only pediatric hospital in Canada to hold the designation

EDMONTON – The Stollery Children’s Hospital has received international recognition for a program that has saved lives of young patients experiencing severe heart and lung failure.

The team behind the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) program has been awarded the Platinum Level Center of Excellence Award for Excellence in Life Support from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO).

The Stollery is the only children’s hospital in Canada to hold this international recognition.

First introduced in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in 1988, ECMO is one of the most advanced forms of life support available, taking over the work of the heart and lungs for patients with severe heart or lung failure. The machine temporarily oxygenates and circulates the patient’s blood outside of the body, when the patient’s own organs can't sustain life. The highly specialized machine gives the organs time to rest and heal, helping the patient recover.

ELSO’s Excellence in Life Support Award recognizes centres that demonstrate an exceptional commitment to evidence-based processes and quality measures, staff training and continuing education and patient satisfaction. The award is granted to select national and international extracorporeal life-support programs that meet the most rigorous standards of performance, innovation and quality.

“This ELSO designation reflects the exceptional dedication, expertise, and teamwork of the Stollery’s ECMO and critical care teams,” says Tyler Coxford, ECMO Program Coordinator at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. “We’re very proud of this talented team, who provide the highest level of life support care to children from across Alberta and beyond.”

Dr. Dianne Fang and Matthew Lui witnessed the extraordinary level of care firsthand when their son James became infected with invasive Group A strep in 2023 when he was four years old. James went from feeling sluggish at preschool one afternoon to being sick enough to require a trip to the emergency department that night, where he went into cardiac arrest and ended up in the intensive care unit.

“James’ condition was quickly getting worse and the intensive care doctor told us ECMO was his only chance at survival,” says Lui. “It was a scary situation but we trusted it was the right decision.”

“ECMO is as invasive as it gets,” adds Dr. Fang. “Knowing that the team is recognized at an international level for offering the best care possible brings a huge level of comfort. We’re so grateful for James’s care team and to have had quick access to ECMO. It saved his life.”

The ECMO program is supported by donor funding through the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. Their generosity allows the ECMO program to continue to advance pediatric critical care and deliver world-class, life-saving care.

Alberta Health Services provides a range of healthcare services for more than five million adults and children living in Alberta. Our mission is to provide excellent, patient-focused healthcare that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans. Our current focus is on reducing emergency department wait times, improving EMS response times, increasing access to surgeries, and improving patient flow.