UHF Board Chair Jim Brown and President Joyce Mallman Law

Hayley Mackenzie (name has been changed due to privacy request) was just 21 when she suffered a stroke in the fall of 2017. The care she received at the University of Alberta Hospital (UAH) ensured that not only would she survive the stroke, but there would be no devastating impact – paralysis, loss of vision, reduced cognitive ability – to live with. She’s now working full-time and has resumed her university studies.

Without philanthropy, the outcome of her stroke would likely have been very, very different.

Canada’s only stroke ambulance, equipped with a CT Scanner, travels from the University of Alberta Hospital for up to two hours to treat patients in rural areas. The stroke ambulance — where Hayley received a dose of the clot-busting drug tPA to dissolve the blood clot that was preventing blood from getting to her brain – is part of a research project that’s fully funded by donors to the UHF’s Brain Centre Campaign. And it’s helped cut stroke-to-treatment time almost in half.

Because the drug didn’t fully dissolve the clot, Hayley was rushed to the University of Alberta Hospital for a clot retrieval procedure that successfully removed it from her brain, restoring blood flow immediately. The procedure requires very sophisticated imaging equipment in a uniquely designed operating room using technology funded by UHF. The University of Alberta Hospital is Alberta Health Services’ designated centre in Edmonton set up to perform these procedures — thanks again to donor support.

Hayley’s story is just one of thousands of examples of how community donations enable our medical teams to drive innovation in patient care at the University of Alberta Hospital — which includes the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and Kaye Edmonton Clinic — and save lives.

There are many specialized programs that Albertans count on such as cardiovascular surgery, trauma and transplants. Donor generosity has advanced care and research in every corner of the University of Alberta Hospital site by recruiting world-renowned doctors, and giving them the best equipment and technology with which to work, in environments that support healing.

The University Hospital Foundation continues its work of connecting the generous people of our communities with important priorities at the University of Alberta Hospital — a Canadian leader in complex care.

In 2018, the University Hospital Foundation raised $40 million — our best year ever — for priorities that impact patients at the hospital and beyond. Our flagship Brain Centre Campaign has raised more than $60 million and counting, since the need to remain at the forefront of ever-changing and advancing brain care will never end.

These advancements in care are only possible through strong collaboration with our valued donors, Alberta Health Services, the Government of Alberta and strategic industry partners. These partnerships enable us to push the boundaries of care and knowledge at the University Hospital, and seek cures to some of the world’s most complex health challenges.

“HERE” is the University Hospital Foundation’s new magazine, created to share the stories of innovators who are making a difference. We are extremely proud to share these stories of healthcare innovation made possible by our generous donors.

There are some incredible things happening right “here.”