Alberta has earmarked $21 million over four years for the new Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton, according to its newly tabled budget being released on February 29.

As the second-largest children’s hospital in Canada it has among the highest inpatient volumes of any children’s hospital in the country, seeing about 300,000 children annually.

Almost 40 per cent of inpatients come from outside the Edmonton area, across more than 500,000 square kilometres, stretching from Red Deer to Alberta’s northernmost border with the Northwest Territories.

A new facility would provide more beds than the 236 it currently holds, larger clinical spaces, more private rooms and dedicated areas for children and their families.

Other plans include integrating mental health resources, virtual care, and research and training facilities to improve health outcomes. There will also be a focus on ensuring health care providers, parents and caregivers have the resources they need to support patients. Alberta’s government initially invested in the project in 2021, providing $1 million that was matched by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Shelley Cormier, a parent of a Stollery patient, said a new hospital is urgently needed. “By separating kids from adults, a stand-alone Stollery ensures a nurturing environment and the most modern pediatric equipment and resources to offer families like ours a health care space designed exclusively for our children.”