FUNDING FOR SASKATOON TO IMPROVE CARE FOR CHILDREN

Saskatchewan Health is providing $850,000 to the Saskatoon Health Region to improve care for children.

"Supporting communities and families is a priority of this government and advancing a children's health agenda is a personal priority of mine. This funding is a continuation in our commitment to improving health care of children in this province who are acutely ill," Health Minister Len Taylor said.

The Province will make an investment of $700,000 to upgrade the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Royal University Hospital in two phases. Phase one will expand the physical space to accommodate more bassinettes, add space for an isolation room and a "step down" unit. The latter is for babies who no longer require NICU services but still require a level of monitoring not provided in the newborn nursery. Electrical, mechanical and acoustical infrastructure in the NICU will be upgraded in phase two. Completion is expected by next spring.

Another $150,000 is being provided for functional programming of the children's "hospital within a hospital". In this, the next phase of the capital planning process, planners consider the inter-relationships between programming, specialized services, equipment, and staff to help determine how much space each needs and where each needs to be located relative to one another. It sets the stage for the next phase: the development of floor plans and drawings.

"Saskatoon Health Region is appreciative of this investment that will help address quality of care issues and enhance the services we provide infants and children in the short term while we continue planning for the children's hospital within a hospital," Saskatoon Health Region Chief Executive Officer Maura Davies said.

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For More Information, Contact:

Kimberly Kratzig Health Regina Phone: (306) 787-4083 Email: kkratzig@health.gov.sk.ca