IWK Health Centre
Encyclopedia
The IWK Health Centre is a hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia
that provides care to women, children, and youth from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
and Prince Edward Island
.
and a maternity hospital
.
Pediatric hospital
In the early 20th century, a group of Halifax residents along with interested physicians proposed the idea of establishing a children's hospital in Halifax. A multi-year fundraising campaign ensued, raising $6,000 by 1907; later that year a donation of $10,000 by the late Mr. F.D. Corbett resulted in the beginning of construction of the Halifax Children's Hospital which opened for use in 1909. It was located on the east side of Robie Street
on the block bounded by University Avenue and South Street; in 1922 the Grace Maternity Hospital would be built on the opposite (north) side of University Avenue. This early pediatric facility had no private beds and since health care in Canada at that time was private, surgical and medical staff donated their services without charge. The building expanded in 1919 to increase bed capacity to 50, followed by a further expansion in 1931 to 90 beds, and finally 217 beds in 1955.
Mrs. Dorothy Johnson Killam donated $8 million toward construction of a new pediatric hospital in the memory of her late husband Izaak Walton Killam
. Construction of the new Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children (informally nicknamed the IWK) began in 1967 and the $20 million 325 bed facility opened in 1970. The location chosen was immediately west and adjacent to the province's largest health care facility, the Victoria General Hospital
, which was the teaching hospital associated with the Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine
; the IWK would continue the Halifax Children's Hospital's affiliation with the Faculty of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics. Upon the opening of the IWK in 1970, the historic Halifax Children's Hospital was demolished.
The Children's Hospital School of Nursing operated from 1916 until 1971, having trained and graduated 801 pediatric nurses over its existence.
Maternity hospital
In 1906 The Salvation Army
purchased an old school in Halifax's South End
as a haven for "fallen women
". The facility was named Harrow House with physicians donating their time, thus it gained an excellent reputation for maternity care. The Halifax Explosion
of December 6, 1917 gave momentum to the Halifax Medical Association's desire for a dedicated maternity institution, resulting in a resolution from that association on September 15, 1918 to Halifax City Council
requesting funds for such a facility and that the Salvation Army be asked to run it. Dalhousie University
offered the Salvation Army both land and funds to build and run the hospital.
The Grace Maternity Hospital (informally nicknamed the Grace) opened on April 29, 1922 as the only independent maternity hospital at that time in Canada; from the outset, the facility was affiliated as a teaching hospital with the Department of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It was located on the east side of Robie Street on the block bounded by University Avenue and College Street; it was opposite the Halifax Children's Hospital which was located on the south side of University Avenue. The initial facility could accommodate 65 mothers and 65 babies. Major renovations to the facility took place in 1956, 1962, 1973 and 1977. In 1975 the Halifax Infirmary announced that it would no longer handle maternity cases, forcing the Grace to absorb its patients. By the 1970s the Grace occupied half a city block with 126 adult beds and 166 bassinets with 40 in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU).
A Government of Nova Scotia
proposal in the late 1970s to construct a new maternity facility for the Grace as part of the $120 million Camp Hill Medical Centre was postponed in 1982, forcing the Salvation Army to undertake an independent plan for a new Grace. By 1984, plans were underway to build a $30 million facility on the old site of the Halifax Children's Hospital which was adjacent to and immediately west of the Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children that had opened in 1970. The new Grace facility opened in 1992 bounding the block formed by University Avenue, Robie Street and South Street west of the IWK. The new building had a connection with the IWK to provide access to that facility's pediatric medicine departments. The old Grace Maternity Hospital located on the north side of the intersection of University Avenue and Robie Street was transferred to Dalhousie University and became home to the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Pharmacology.
The Grace Maternity School of Nursing opened in 1922 at the time the hospital itself opened, offering an 18-month course in Obstetrical
and Newborn Nursing
(these programs ended in 1959) and the school began a 3-year nursing program in affiliation with the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax Children's Hospital, Nova Scotia Sanatorium and Nova Scotia Hospital. The program ended in 1964, having trained and graduated almost 400 nurses over its existence.
1996 merger
In 1996 the Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children and the adjacent Grace Maternity Hospital merged to become the IWK Grace Hospital for Women, Children and Families. At that time a new "Link" building was constructed to join the separate buildings. In 2000 a helipad
was constructed near the southwest corner of the former Grace Maternity Hospital building; this proposal caused some concern in the adjacent residential area on the west side of Robie Street.
In 2001 the Salvation Army ended its involvement with the amalgamated institution and the name was simplified to become the IWK Health Centre which remains in current use as of 2011.
A 5-year $48 million redevelopment began in 2004 which resulted in the construction of 48000 sq ft (4,459.3 m²) of new space and renovations to 160000 sq ft (14,864.5 m²) of existing space. Inpatient units, perioperative facilities and ambulatory care space also saw major redevelopment. The most prominent exterior change to the facility was the addition of a parking garage accessed from University Avenue as well as an atrium
connected to the Link Building. Today the IWK Health Centre terms the former Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children as the "Children's Site" and the former Grace Maternity Hospital building as the "Women's Site".
Around 2006 two floors were added to the link building, which provided 48000 sq ft (4,459.3 m²) of additional space.
and is affiliated with Dalhousie University. The hospital is also renowned as a research hospital in the areas of children's and women's health
.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
that provides care to women, children, and youth from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
.
Location
The IWK Health Centre is located in the south end of Halifax. The front entrance is on University Avenue between Robie Street and Martello Street.History
The present-day IWK Health Centre traces its history to the development of two separate facilities, a pediatric hospitalChildren's hospital
A children's hospital is a hospital which offers its services exclusively to children . The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th century, as pediatric medical and surgical specialties separated from internal medicine and adult surgical specialties...
and a maternity hospital
Maternity hospital
A maternity hospital is a hospital that specializes in caring for women while they are pregnant and during childbirth. The hospital also provides care for newborn infants....
.
Pediatric hospital
In the early 20th century, a group of Halifax residents along with interested physicians proposed the idea of establishing a children's hospital in Halifax. A multi-year fundraising campaign ensued, raising $6,000 by 1907; later that year a donation of $10,000 by the late Mr. F.D. Corbett resulted in the beginning of construction of the Halifax Children's Hospital which opened for use in 1909. It was located on the east side of Robie Street
Robie Street
Robie Street is a north-south artery, street and provincial road that runs for 7 kilometres within the Halifax Peninsula area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, from Memorial Drive in the North End Halifax, to Gorsebrook Avenue in the South End. The street in most places is 4 lanes wide with a...
on the block bounded by University Avenue and South Street; in 1922 the Grace Maternity Hospital would be built on the opposite (north) side of University Avenue. This early pediatric facility had no private beds and since health care in Canada at that time was private, surgical and medical staff donated their services without charge. The building expanded in 1919 to increase bed capacity to 50, followed by a further expansion in 1931 to 90 beds, and finally 217 beds in 1955.
Mrs. Dorothy Johnson Killam donated $8 million toward construction of a new pediatric hospital in the memory of her late husband Izaak Walton Killam
Izaak Walton Killam
Izaak Walton Killam was one of Canada's most eminent financiers.-Early life:Born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Killam rose from paper boy in Yarmouth to become one of Canada's wealthiest individuals.-Business ventures:...
. Construction of the new Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children (informally nicknamed the IWK) began in 1967 and the $20 million 325 bed facility opened in 1970. The location chosen was immediately west and adjacent to the province's largest health care facility, the Victoria General Hospital
Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre
Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a large teaching hospital affiliated with Dalhousie University. Administratively it is part of the Capital District Health Authority.-History:...
, which was the teaching hospital associated with the Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine
Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine
The Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, otherwise known as Dalhousie Medical School, is a faculty at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada...
; the IWK would continue the Halifax Children's Hospital's affiliation with the Faculty of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics. Upon the opening of the IWK in 1970, the historic Halifax Children's Hospital was demolished.
The Children's Hospital School of Nursing operated from 1916 until 1971, having trained and graduated 801 pediatric nurses over its existence.
Maternity hospital
In 1906 The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
purchased an old school in Halifax's South End
South End, Halifax
The South End is a region of Halifax Regional Municipality, located on the southern half of the Halifax Peninsula in Halifax's urban centre. Quinpool Road is increasingly considered to be an arbitrary border between the South and North Ends, though Quinpool Road is also a part of the West End, and...
as a haven for "fallen women
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
". The facility was named Harrow House with physicians donating their time, thus it gained an excellent reputation for maternity care. The Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
of December 6, 1917 gave momentum to the Halifax Medical Association's desire for a dedicated maternity institution, resulting in a resolution from that association on September 15, 1918 to Halifax City Council
Halifax Regional Council
Halifax Regional Council is the governing body for the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia.In April 1996, the councils for the City of Halifax, the City of Dartmouth, Town of Bedford, and Municipality of the County of Halifax were dissolved when those municipalities were amalgamated into...
requesting funds for such a facility and that the Salvation Army be asked to run it. Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
offered the Salvation Army both land and funds to build and run the hospital.
The Grace Maternity Hospital (informally nicknamed the Grace) opened on April 29, 1922 as the only independent maternity hospital at that time in Canada; from the outset, the facility was affiliated as a teaching hospital with the Department of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It was located on the east side of Robie Street on the block bounded by University Avenue and College Street; it was opposite the Halifax Children's Hospital which was located on the south side of University Avenue. The initial facility could accommodate 65 mothers and 65 babies. Major renovations to the facility took place in 1956, 1962, 1973 and 1977. In 1975 the Halifax Infirmary announced that it would no longer handle maternity cases, forcing the Grace to absorb its patients. By the 1970s the Grace occupied half a city block with 126 adult beds and 166 bassinets with 40 in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU).
A Government of Nova Scotia
Government of Nova Scotia
The Government of Nova Scotia refers to the provincial government of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
proposal in the late 1970s to construct a new maternity facility for the Grace as part of the $120 million Camp Hill Medical Centre was postponed in 1982, forcing the Salvation Army to undertake an independent plan for a new Grace. By 1984, plans were underway to build a $30 million facility on the old site of the Halifax Children's Hospital which was adjacent to and immediately west of the Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children that had opened in 1970. The new Grace facility opened in 1992 bounding the block formed by University Avenue, Robie Street and South Street west of the IWK. The new building had a connection with the IWK to provide access to that facility's pediatric medicine departments. The old Grace Maternity Hospital located on the north side of the intersection of University Avenue and Robie Street was transferred to Dalhousie University and became home to the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Pharmacology.
The Grace Maternity School of Nursing opened in 1922 at the time the hospital itself opened, offering an 18-month course in Obstetrical
Obstetrical nursing
Obstetrical nursing, also called perinatal nursing, is a nursing specialty that works with patients who are attempting to become pregnant, are currently pregnant, or are recently delivered. Obstetrical nurses help provide prenatal care and testing, care of patients experiencing pregnancy...
and Newborn Nursing
Neonatal nursing
Neonatal nursing is the provision of nursing care for newborn infants up to 28 days after birth. The term neonatal comes from neo, "new", and natal, "pertaining to birth or origin"...
(these programs ended in 1959) and the school began a 3-year nursing program in affiliation with the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax Children's Hospital, Nova Scotia Sanatorium and Nova Scotia Hospital. The program ended in 1964, having trained and graduated almost 400 nurses over its existence.
1996 merger
In 1996 the Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children and the adjacent Grace Maternity Hospital merged to become the IWK Grace Hospital for Women, Children and Families. At that time a new "Link" building was constructed to join the separate buildings. In 2000 a helipad
Helipad
Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
was constructed near the southwest corner of the former Grace Maternity Hospital building; this proposal caused some concern in the adjacent residential area on the west side of Robie Street.
In 2001 the Salvation Army ended its involvement with the amalgamated institution and the name was simplified to become the IWK Health Centre which remains in current use as of 2011.
A 5-year $48 million redevelopment began in 2004 which resulted in the construction of 48000 sq ft (4,459.3 m²) of new space and renovations to 160000 sq ft (14,864.5 m²) of existing space. Inpatient units, perioperative facilities and ambulatory care space also saw major redevelopment. The most prominent exterior change to the facility was the addition of a parking garage accessed from University Avenue as well as an atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
connected to the Link Building. Today the IWK Health Centre terms the former Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children as the "Children's Site" and the former Grace Maternity Hospital building as the "Women's Site".
Around 2006 two floors were added to the link building, which provided 48000 sq ft (4,459.3 m²) of additional space.
Education and research
The IWK is a teaching hospitalTeaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
and is affiliated with Dalhousie University. The hospital is also renowned as a research hospital in the areas of children's and women's health
Women's health
Women's health refers to health issues specific to human female anatomy. These often relate to structures such as female genitalia and breasts or to conditions caused by hormones specific to, or most notable in, females. Women's health issues include menstruation, contraception, maternal health,...
.
Statistics
- Approximately 5000 babies are delivered at the IWK Health Centre each year.
- There are more than 3,200 employees at the IWK Health Centre.
- Approximately 29,170 patient visits to the emergency department each year.
- Approximately 1,298,717 tests are completed in laboratories at the IWK Health Centre each year.
- Approximately $20 million of funded research was underway at the IWK Health Centre in 2010.