Lois Hole Hospital for Women Opens in Edmonton

Edmonton, AB – Alberta Health Services and Alberta Health and Wellness today officially opened the new Lois Hole Hospital for Women at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton.

Part of the Robbins Pavilion, the five-floor hospital is dedicated to providing an extensive continuum of care for women and families in Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

“It’s a great pleasure and honour to be involved in the opening of the Lois Hole Hospital for Women,” said Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach. “Lois Hole was a very special Albertan. She is remembered for her enduring spirit, passion and caring; the same qualities that will greet countless women and families when they pass through the doors of this new facility.”

The new hospital will welcome its first patients in mid-May. It was made possible through $190 million in funding from the Government of Alberta and more than $20 million in donations to the Royal Alexandra Foundation toward campaigns for both the Lois Hole Hospital for Women and the Robbins Pavilion.

“The opening of the new Lois Hole Hospital for Women is a tremendous milestone in health care for women in Alberta and Canada’s North,” said Alberta Health and Wellness Minister Gene Zwozdesky. ”By advancing care through research, innovation, technology and education, this hospital will provide countless women and families with greater access to a wider array of important health services.”
 
The hospital improves capacity and quality, with 16 labour, delivery, and recovery rooms, up from the 11 currently at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. It also features a dedicated women’s surgical suite with four operating rooms and two cesarean-section operating rooms with state-of-the-art digital OR technology and instrumentation.

“We are very grateful to the Government of Alberta for its support of women’s health in Alberta. In addition to new capacity, we have an opportunity to move ahead with the much-needed consolidation of the current women’s health programs and services at the Royal Alexandra Hospital,” said Ken Hughes, Chair, Alberta Health Services Board of Directors.

“The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry is tremendously excited by the opening of this world-class facility for the women of Edmonton and their babies,” said Dr. Philip Baker, Dean, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta. “The Lois Hole Hospital will enable us to teach and train both our medical students and the next generation of obstetricians and gynecologists. The new hospital will facilitate research into the causes and treatments of major complications.”

The hospital is named after the late Honourable Lois E. Hole, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.

Please see the Backgrounder for details on the Lois Hole Hospital for Women and the women’s health program.

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