Health care as we know it is changing. Advancements in research and patient care are moving quickly. Citizens are more informed about available options – and expectations on our doctors and medical teams are higher than they’ve ever been. Thanks to the work of our incredible researchers and the brilliant providers at Alberta Health Services, people are spending less time in the hospital than ever before, and more time being cared for in their communities, closer to their family and friends.

They are able to do this because at the University of Alberta Hospital, we have:

• Surgeons doing brain surgeries without incisions with Gamma Knife; a patient with a debilitating brain condition arrives inthe morning, has radiosurgery, and is home in time for dinner that same evening;
• Cardiac surgeons performing major heart surgeries through incisions small enough to fit between two ribs, which dramatically shorten recovery times;
• An emerging Virtual Hospital program where patients receive the same level of care as they would get in the hospital — without leaving their homes;
• A growing home hemodialysis program, with over 100 Albertans dialyzing at home;
• Programs that get patients mobile as soon as possible after surgeries.

My colleague, David Finlay, the chair of our board of trustees, says it best:

“Donors, both individuals and corporate partners, have played integral roles in making every one of these advancements – and many more – possible.”

They continue to play a role in innovation and research today that will transform the care that patients facing life-threatening injuries and illness receive for decades to come.

Thanks to our donors, the University Hospital Foundation is a catalyst for health research and innovative care that will impact your families and mine – and families around the world.

So yes, health care is changing. And we are right there in the middle of it, connecting the incredible generosity of our donors with more ways to save and change lives, right where we want to be.