The new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital (JPCH) in Saskatoon is now open and fully operational.
The move into the hospital was completed Sunday. In a press release issued Monday afternoon, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said that as the first pediatric surgery and outpatient clinics opened, the SHA began its first full day of operations.
After years of designing, building, planning and preparing, patients are now settled in.
“Our dedicated staff, nurses and physicians all worked together to ensure the big move to our beautiful new hospital yesterday was a success,” said Carrie Dornstauder, executive director of maternal and children’s programs for Saskatchewan Health Authority.
“It’s that staff collaboration, along with the assistance of our moving company, Health Care Relocations (HCR), and the cooperation of our patients and families throughout the day that meant we could make this move a positive experience for our patients and their families.”
Royal University Hospital (RUH) adult and JPCH children’s emergency, pediatric and maternal services opened in the new hospital at 6 a.m. Sunday. The first patient – a child needing emergency care - entered the hospital at 6:10 a.m. The first new patient was admitted to JPCH at 7 a.m. that morning. The first new maternal patient arrived at JPCH at 8:45 a.m.
The big patient move for pediatric and maternal services began at about 7:17 a.m. on Sept. 29 and was completed at 11:31 a.m. – three minutes ahead of schedule, despite additional patients being added along the way. All patients moved without incident. In total, 112 maternal and child patients were moved from RUH to their new patient rooms inside JPCH.
All adult emergency department patients were transferred to the new emergency room by 1:15 p.m.
“The opening of Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital marks a dream more than two decades in the making finally coming true,” said Brynn Boback-Lane, president and CEO of the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. “This historic milestone means the start of a new era of care for Saskatchewan families. Words cannot adequately express our heartfelt appreciation for the time and funds that made this possible; this project truly represents how Saskatchewan people come together. A new and exciting chapter has begun.”
Once the doors to the new children’s and maternal hospital opened, it didn’t take long for babies to begin arriving. The first baby born at JPCH was delivered at 2:32 p.m. As of 11 a.m. on Sept. 30, six babies have been born at JPCH.
While all inpatient services are available at JPCH now, pediatric outpatient services will continue to ramp up over the course of the next few weeks and months in the new facility.
