The Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) is a large and long serving hospital in the Canadian province of Alberta. Operated by Alberta Health Services and located north of Edmonton's downtown core, the Royal Alexandra serves a diverse community stretching from Downtown Edmonton to western and northern Canada. The total catchment area for the RAH is equivalent to 1/3 of Canada's land mass, stretching north from Downtown Edmonton to enpass both the Northwest Territories and Yukon territory, and stretching as far west as British Columbia's pacific coast.
The hospital operates 869 beds, and cares for more than 500,000 patients annually. The RAH is home to the Lois Hole Hospital for Women, the Eye Institute of Alberta, the C.K. Hui Heart Centre, and the Indigenous Health Program, the Orthopedic Surgery Centre, the Centre for Minimally Invasive Surgery, the Weight Wise Clinic, and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Program in addition to a wide range of child, adult and geriatric programs and services.
Several University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry departments are headquartered in the Royal Alexandra Hospital including Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Centres of Medical Excellence
The Royal Alexandra Hospital is home to four medical centres.
The Eye Institute of Alberta
The Eye Institute of Alberta offers specialized care and treatment for a variety of ophthalmologic conditions. This institute is the only hospital-based comprehensive eye treatment centre in Northern Alberta, treating patients from across Western Canada and the Northern Territories.
CK Hui Heart Centre
The CK Hui Heart Centre specializes in the non-surgical treatment of coronary artery disease, as well as interventional cardiology. The Centre performs minimally invasive interventional cardiac procedures and hosts a number of progressive programs focusing on prevention, stabilization, multicultural needs, rehabilitation, maternal heart health and angina.
Orthopedic Surgery Centre
The Orthopedic Surgery Centre is dedicated solely to hip and knee replacement. With four operating suites and more than 50 beds, the Orthopedic Surgery Centre performs more than 4,000 joint surgeries a year.
Lois Hole Hospital for Women
The Lois Hole Hospital for Women is Alberta's only dedicated women's hospital offering high risk obstetrical and maternal care as well as surgical treatment for women of all ages and in all stages of life. Over 7500 babies are born at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women each year. The hospital has six operating rooms for obstetrics and gynecological procedures. Each operating room is designed specifically for women's health procedures. The hospital is home to Canada's first da Vinci surgical robot dedicated to women's health allowing for minimally invasive urogynecological and gynecological surgeries.
Additional Medical Centres
Centre for the Advancement of Minimally Invasive Surgery
The Centre for the Advancement of Minimally Invasive Surgery (CAMIS) is a teaching facility providing surgical training and education for nurses, medical students, residents, surgeons and allied health providers. CAMIS provides a place for research in the clinical experience and improvements of minimally invasive surgery.
Alberta Thoracic Oncology Program
The Alberta Thoracic Oncology Program (ATOP) operates a Rapid Access Clinic at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. This program is for patients with lung cancer.
History
The Royal Alexandra Hospital is named after Queen Alexandra (1844–1925), consort of King Edward VII, the King of Canada from 1901 until his death in 1910. It was granted the "Royal" prefix by Edward in 1907.
The Royal Alexandra Hospital opened in 1899 at 97th Street and 103A Avenue as the Edmonton General Hospital. It was designed to hold 25 patients. The costs of opening the hospital were funded by the Women's Auxiliary. In 1912, a new "modern" facility was opened on the northside of 111 Avenue between 101 and 103 Street. Costs for this facility were estimated to be $150,000. Built for a city of 31,000, the new hospital had a bed capacity of 150. In 1922 plans were drawn for the isolation hospital which was constructed directly behind the Royal Alexandra Hospital, and provided another 100 beds.