The Jim Pattison Children's Hospital has officially wrapped up construction and is moving into the next phase.

Rooms are painted to resemble wetlands, forests, with expansive windows that offer views of the South Saskatchewan River. In the pediatric intensive care unit and in induction rooms, where children will be prepped for surgery, light strips transition from green to orange to red, mimicking the experience of staring at the northern lights. “This is what this hospital brings: A different environment, an environment that creates a home-like environment that decreases anxiety,” Dr. Laurentiu Givelichian, head of pediatrics with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

“The literature shows that increased anxiety will prolong the stay in the hospital. So being treated in this hospital, our children will be able to be discharged sooner and it will decrease the number of days that the children and their families will stay in the hospital.” The Saskatchewan NDP government put money toward development of a plan for a children’s hospital in 2007. Ground was broken on the 176-bed facility in 2014 under the Saskatchewan Party government.

Photo Courtesy of Saskatchewan Health Authority
Construction was largely completed this week and Graham Construction has handed control of the building over to the Saskatchewan Health Authority. “Today marks a significant milestone in the project,” said Corey Miller, vice president of provincial programs for the SHA. “It marks a milestone towards the end goal, which is caring for the mothers, children and families of Saskatchewan.” Over the next several weeks, the SHA will furnish the hospital, install equipment and train physicians and other health care staff on the layout and how everything operates.

Once the hospital opens, Saskatchewan will be able to provide a wider range of pediatric treatments and services so fewer families will have to travel outside the province for care, Givelichian said. For example, children who need pediatric dialysis currently travel to Alberta or Manitoba for treatment and will be able to be treated at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital when it opens. Givelichian said 72 full-time physicians in more than 20 specialties will work out of the hospital. At present, 60 of those physicians are already working for the SHA. He said the province is still trying to recruit some sub specialists, including a pediatric respirologist and pediatric endocrinologist. Over the coming months, candidates for these positions will be invited to visit the new hospital, Givelichian said.  “I’m quite confident that by the time the hospital opens, or shortly after, the full implement of physicians and programs will be ready to go,” he said.

The hospital is designed in such a way that families can be kept together with minimal movement. Large private rooms allow families to spend the nights with young patients. Forty-nine rooms in the maternal services wing allow women to stay in the same place for labour, birth and recovery.

The total capital cost of the hospital was $285.9 million, which includes $257.6 million from the province and $28.3 million from the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation.