The University of Alberta Hospital (UAH) is a research and teaching

Teaching 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...

 hospital in Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The hospital is affiliated with the University of Alberta

University of Alberta

The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...

 and run by Alberta Health Services

Alberta Health Services

Alberta Health Services is the province-wide organization responsible for providing hospital and other health care in the Canadian province of Alberta. Known as the "superboard", it was created in May 2008, with the abolition of nine previous regional health authorities, the Alberta Mental Health...

, formerly Capital Health, the health authority

Health care

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

 for Alberta. It is one of Canada's leading health sciences centres, providing a comprehensive range of diagnostic and treatment services to inpatients and outpatients. The UAH has a total of 650 beds and treats over 700,000 patients annually.

The Stollery Children's Hospital and the Mazankowski

Don Mazankowski

Donald Frank "Don" Mazankowski, PC, OC, AOE is a Canadian politician who served as a cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney. He was also Deputy Prime Minister under Mulroney....

 Alberta Heart Institute are both part of the UAH, and act as embedded, "hospitals within a hospital". The Stollery Children's Hospital, along with other UAH facilities, is located in the Walter C. Mackenzie

Walter Mackenzie

Walter Campbell Mackenzie, OC was a Canadian surgeon and academic.He was a professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine...

 Health Sciences Centre. The Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute is located in a new building that opened on May 1, 2008, and became operational in September 2009.

Because of the UAH, the surrounding area has become part of a healthcare cluster that also includes the Cross Cancer Institute

Cross Cancer Institute

The Cross Cancer Institute is the comprehensive cancer centre for northern Alberta, and is one of two tertiary cancer centres in the province. It provides inpatient and outpatient services for cancer patients and counselling and support services for patients and their families...

, the Heritage Medical Research Building, the Zeidler Ledcor Center, the Katz Group

Katz Group of Companies

Katz Group of Companies operates over 1,800 pharmacies in Canada and the United States. It is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Daryl Katz is chairman of the Katz Group of Companies.- Katz Group Canada :Katz Group Canada Ltd...

/Rexall

Rexall

Rexall was a chain of North American drugstores, and the name of their store-branded products. The stores, having roots in the federation of United Drug Stores starting in 1902, licensed the Rexall brand name to as many as 12,000 drug stores across the United States from 1920 to 1977...

 Center for Pharmacy

Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

 and Health Research, and the upcoming Edmonton Clinic

Edmonton Clinic

The Edmonton Clinic, formerly known as the Health Sciences Ambulatory Learning Centre , will be an interdisciplinary health science facility located on the University of Alberta main campus, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada....

- which has been called "the Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...

 of the North" and that will host many of the University's health and research clinics

The whole complex is served by the Health Sciences

Health Sciences (ETS)

Health Sciences/Jubilee Station is an LRT station operated by Edmonton Transit System in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is located on the surface at 83 Avenue and 114 Street on the University of Alberta campus near the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, the Walter MacKenzie Health...

 light rail transit

Edmonton Light Rail Transit

Edmonton Light Rail Transit, more commonly referred to as the LRT, is a light rail system in Edmonton, Alberta. Part of the Edmonton Transit System , the 20.5-kilometre route starts in Edmonton's northeast suburbs and ends at Century Park in Edmonton's south end.The ETS designates the LRT as Route...

 station and the University Station

University (ETS)

University Station is an LRT station operated by Edmonton Transit System in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is located beneath the University of Alberta campus at 112 Street and 89 Avenue....

.

History

The University of Alberta Hospital opened in 1906 with 5 staff members. Since then, it has steadily grown into a world class facility today which now is staffed by over 8,000 staff and physicians (as of 2007). The hospital began training nurses through recognized apprenticeship program in 1908. In 1916 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 it served as the Strathcona Military Hospital. It was the provincial rehabilitation centre for the polio

Poliomyelitis

Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route...

 epidemics in the 1920s and 1950s. Dr. Hepburn, a pioneering neurosurgeon

Neurosurgery

Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...

, developed "The Edmonton Tongs" as initial treatment for cervical spine

Cervical vertebrae

In vertebrates, cervical vertebrae are those vertebrae immediately inferior to the skull.Thoracic vertebrae in all mammalian species are defined as those vertebrae that also carry a pair of ribs, and lie caudal to the cervical vertebrae. Further caudally follow the lumbar vertebrae, which also...

 injuries in the late 1920s. Dr. John Callaghan

John Callaghan

John Carter Callaghan, was a Canadian cardiac surgeon who "pioneered open-heart surgery in Alberta" Born in Hamilton, Ontario on October 1, 1923, he received his medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1946...

 performed Canada's first open-heart surgery

Cardiac surgery

Cardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...

 here in 1956, and the first heart

Heart valve

A heart valve normally allows blood flow in only one direction through the heart. The four valves commonly represented in a mammalian heart determine the pathway of blood flow through the heart...

 valve replacement

Valve replacement

Valve replacement surgery is the replacement of one or more of the heart valves with either an artificial heart valve or a bioprosthesis . It is an alternative to valve repair.There are four procedures:...

 6 years later in 1962. The first heart transplant

Heart transplantation

A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplantation, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease. As of 2007 the most common procedure was to take a working heart from a recently deceased organ donor and implant it into the...

 in Western Canada

Western Canada

Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

 was performed at the hospital in 1985, by 2001 the hospital had conducted 500 heart

Heart

The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...

 and heart-lung transplant

Heart-lung transplant

A heart–lung transplant is a procedure carried out to replace both heart and lungs in a single operation. Due to a shortage of suitable donors, it is a rare procedure; only about a hundred such transplants are performed each year in the USA....

s. In 2001 the Stollery Children's Hospital opened. In 2006, the hospital had the most technically advanced and only intensive care unit

Intensive Care Unit

thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...

 dedicated solely to the treatment of burn patients.

Bob and Shirley Stollery

Around 1983 Bob and Shirley Stollery provided a generous donation that would be the catalyst for the creation of the Stollery Children's Hospital, as Edmonton's "state-of-the-art" children's hospital. The Stollerys promised to provide significant funding if such a hospital could be built. Since a "free-standing children's hospital" in the 1900s was not considered economically viable a capital fundraising campaign took place that raised over $10 million which aided in the construction of the Stollery Children's Health Centre. The Health Centre became known as the Stollery Children's Hospital in 2001 emphasizing the facility as being an independent hospital from the University of Alberta Hospital. In Alberta the Stollery is the "only provider of all pediatric complex cardiac surgical services and is the only referral center in Western Canada for pediatric heart and liver transplants". Other specialty services include pediatric and neonatal intensive care and pediatric emergency. Biomedical engineers of the hospital own the rights to SAINT, a small intensive care unit that transfers severely ill infants safely in sub-zero temperatures.

The Stollery has successfully achieved many firsts from the millions of dollars in funding over the years. The Stollery was the first hospital in Western Canada to have an Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO, a life-saving device which acts as an external heart and lungs), being able to replace a valve within a child's heart without requiring surgery, providing a pediatric intestinal transplant,and having a pediatric thrombosis program. In Canada, the Stollery had the first pediatric auto-islet transplant, and the only Weight and Health Pediatric Centre.It is also North America's first "reference centre for the Berlin Heart.

According to the official web site the vision of the hospital is:
In order to raise money to support funding for the children's hospital many events take place throughout the year within the city of Edmonton such as Radiothon's (local participating radio stations include CISN Country 103.9, 92.5 JOE FM and 630 CHED, The Bear 100.3, etc), Tee Up for Tots, Caring for Kids Broadcast and Snowflake Gala.

Library

The John W. Scott Health Sciences Library was opened in 1984, and was named after the Dean of Medicine from 1948-1959.

Cardiac care

The University of Alberta Hospital's cardiac sciences program includes adult and pediatric

Pediatrics

Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...

 cardiology and heart surgery. The program also does research in vascular

Vascular

Vascular in zoology and medicine means "related to blood vessels", which are part of the circulatory system. An organ or tissue that is vascularized is heavily endowed with blood vessels and thus richly supplied with blood....

 biology and electrophysiology

Electrophysiology

Electrophysiology is the study of the electrical properties of biological cells and tissues. It involves measurements of voltage change or electric current on a wide variety of scales from single ion channel proteins to whole organs like the heart...

. The University of Alberta Hospital is the pioneering hospital for open-heart surgery in Canada.

Transplant program

The University Hospital's transplant program is recognized as one of the best in Canada and the world. It is a leader in both the numbers of transplant procedures performed and success rates. At the hospital, patients can receive heart, lung

Lung transplantation

Lung transplantation, or pulmonary transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a patient's diseased lungs are partially or totally replaced by lungs which come from a donor...

, liver

Liver transplantation

Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with a healthy liver allograft. The most commonly used technique is orthotopic transplantation, in which the native liver is removed and replaced by the donor organ in the same anatomic location as the original...

, kidney

Kidney transplantation

Kidney transplantation or renal transplantation is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage renal disease. Kidney transplantation is typically classified as deceased-donor or living-donor transplantation depending on the source of the donor organ...

, pancreas

Pancreas transplantation

A pancreas transplant is an organ transplant that involves implanting a healthy pancreas into a person who usually has diabetes. Because the pancreas is a vital organ, performing functions necessary in the digestion process, the recipient's native pancreas is left in place, and the donated...

, intestinal and islet cell

Islet cell transplantation

Islet transplantation is the transplantation of isolated islets from a donor pancreas and into another person. It is an experimental treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. Once transplanted, the islets begin to produce insulin, actively regulating the level of glucose in the blood.Islets are...

 transplants.

Neuroscience

The University of Alberta Hospital contains a dedicated neuroscience

Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...

s intensive care environment. This area is dedicated to the treatment of complex conditions such as stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

s, brain tumours

Brain tumor

A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...

, as well as spinal cord

Spinal cord

The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...

 and brain injuries

Traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury , also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism , or other features...

. An inter-disciplinary team uses state-of-the-art technology to coordinate the treatment of these conditions.

Burn treatment

The University of Alberta Hospital receives patients from all over Western Canada in the Fire Fighter's Burn Treatment Unit. This is one of the most technologically advanced and highly acclaimed burn care units

Burn center

A Burn center or Burns unit is a hospital specializing in the treatment of burns. Burn centers are often used for the treatment and recovery of patients with more severe burns....

 in the world. A multidisciplinary team that includes nurses, physicians and physical

Physical therapy

Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...

, respiratory

Respiratory therapy

Respiratory therapy is a healthcare profession in which specialists work with patients suffering from either acute or chronic respiratory problems. These specialists are termed Respiratory Therapists in most places internationally but may also be referred to as Respiratory Scientists or...

, and occupational therapist

Occupational therapist

An occupational therapist is trained in the practice of occupational therapy. The role of an occupational therapist is to work with a client to help them achieve a fulfilled and satisfied state in life through the use of "purposeful activity or interventions designed to achieve functional...

s provide top-quality care for burn patients.