Our History

"In so many ways, the Stollery has emerged to become a place where the spirit of hope and endless possibility are forever enhanced by the compassion, skill and pioneering outlook of our medical team," says the Chair, Department of Pediatrics and Regional Clinical Program Director, Child Health, Dr. Terry Klassen. "Together we have worked to position the Stollery Children's Hospital as a global leader in a new era of pediatric medicine."

The Stollery Children's Hospital is the result of a partnership between community and various levels of government, each with a common goal: to build a pediatric hospital that would meet the acute and critical care needs of children in Edmonton and Central and Northern Alberta.

In 1977, a group of families and physicians created the Foundation for a Children's Hospital in Northern Alberta. Its studies and recommendations led to a provincial pledge in 1985 to develop a pediatric hospital, and a year later, the Northern Alberta Children's Hospital Board was appointed.

As planning continued between 1991 and 1995, the concept of a "Hospital within a Hospital" began to take shape. Building a complete children's hospital within the walls of the University of Alberta Hospital would bring specialized pediatric services together under one roof, allowing the pediatric hospital to focus on child-and family-centered care, while sharing resources with the adult hospital.

In 1993, the provincial government established the Children's Health Centre of Northern Alberta. Two years later at the time that regionalization was introduced in the province, operation of the Children's Health Centre was transferred to Capital Health and the Child Health Program was established.

In 1996, the acute care services for children at the Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre were renamed the Stollery Children's Health Centre to commemorate a generous financial donation from Edmonton philanthropists Robert and Shirley Stollery.

Over the next two years, the Stollery underwent extensive renovations to establish the "Hospital within a Hospital" concept.

In addition to creating an improved visual appeal, the redesign strengthened our practice of family centered care, where the child and family can be together during the child's treatment.

This approach included creating informal spaces for family gatherings, built-in beds for parents in the child's room, and improved play areas for children on each of the units.

In October 2001, at the official opening, Premier Ralph Klein announced the new name of 'Stollery Children's Hospital' by which it is now known.