Care for those who need it most
Giving hope to those with brain and spinal cord injuries
For patients with debilitating brain and spinal cord injuries, early access to advanced rehabilitation is critical to recovery. It’s also hard to get. Currently, the wait to be transferred to an inpatient rehab facility is between two weeks to a month.
With your support, we will provide these patients with early access to innovative treatments and state-of-the-art technology – getting them the care they need when they need it the most.
Adding a state-of-the-art Neuro Rehabilitation Innovation Centre at the University of Alberta Hospital will give patients with potentially debilitating neurologic conditions timely access to intensive rehab treatments and improve their chances for a full recovery.
The new Centre will also make the University of Alberta Hospital one of the very few acute care settings in North America to offer advanced rehabilitation to its brain and spinal cord patients.
This rare opportunity for patients, doctors, nurses, allied health staff and researchers to work side-by-side in real time will close the gap between knowledge and patient care while at the same time, provide opportunities for exciting new discoveries.
Giving hope to those with brain and spinal cord injuries
2022 CAUSE
Early access to proven innovative therapies significantly improves patient care and expectations for recovery. Streamlining the path to rehab will reduce length-of-stay and make beds available sooner for incoming patients.
Neuro researchers at the University of Alberta Hospital will have greater opportunity to transform the world of brain and spinal cord rehabilitation by increasing research productivity, grants funded, and published work, allowing the University of Alberta Hospital to be leaders in creating evidence for new and upcoming therapies.
Patient story
It Was Just Another Day Until It Wasn’t
The official cause of Bill Stephenson’s plane crash was engine failure after takeoff.
Flown by air ambulance from the crash site at the Wetaskiwin airport to the University of Alberta Hospital (UAH), Bill underwent several hours of surgery on his shattered spine. He also had 12 broken ribs.
A few days later, he had a talk with his physician. “I asked him, ‘In your experience with this extent of injury, have you seen anyone walk from it?’ And he just shook his head”.
But Bill did not accept his physician’s prognosis as final. “I’m a very active person. I have my own gym in the house. I’m a portrait artist. I play piano and flute. I fly airplanes. I have a farm. So yeah. When they offered me rehabilitation, I took it.”
Dr. Chester Ho, a physiatrist at the UAH who specializes in rehabilitation after neurologic injuries, saw potential in Bill immediately after his initial evaluation in the intensive care unit. “We identified him as someone who could recover with the right rehabilitation.”
Fortunately, Dr. Ho and his team had the equipment and technology needed to put Bill back on his feet again. That’s not always the case.
For patients with debilitating brain and spinal cord injuries, early access to advanced rehabilitation is critical to recovery.
Currently, the wait is between 15-25 days. A new, state-of-the-art Neuro Rehabilitation Innovation Centre at the UAH will provide patients with convenient and early access to innovative treatments and state-of-the-art technology.
Your support makes a difference
Festival of Trees has raised over $23 million for critically important causes at the University of Alberta Hospital site. From bringing incision-free brain surgery technology to Edmonton to expanding intensive care for cardiac patients, your support has impacted patients from head-to-toe.
