The people of southern Saskatchewan will long remember Nov. 2, 2010 as the day the Rawlco Centre for Mother Baby Care at the Regina General Hospital (RGH) officially opened to the public. Joining in the celebration were dignitaries, children born at RGH, staff, donors and the public.
 
The Centre was designed to be one of the most advanced and family-friendly facilities in Canada. Its impact would be felt across our community and change how mother-baby care would be delivered in our province. With new equipment and significant renovations, the Centre would include major enhancements for the Labour and Birth Unit, the Mother Baby Unit and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
 
The fundraising journey began in 2004 with a major gift from Gordon and Doug Rawlinson, owners of Rawlco Radio, and launched with the Small is Big campaign for Hospitals of Regina Foundation. With the support of many other generous donors, the campaign raised an incredible $6 million in two years for furnishings and equipment. It was an example of what our community could achieve when we all we shared a common vision.
 
Our hospitals always had good people providing good care. The opening of the Rawlco Centre meant we now had an environment that was as good as the care. Doctors and nurses were given the tools they needed to provide innovative, family-centered care for mothers, newborns and families.
 
The newly renovated Mother Baby Unit offered 36 private rooms with full bathrooms, baby baths and baby change areas. The Labour Unit included eight patient rooms where women could deliver babies in birthing beds, with leading-edge equipment close at hand. The space also featured two operating rooms for more complicated births requiring general anesthesia and caesarian section. Donations also helped equip 21 infant care stations in the NICU as well as create a new procedures room to treat at-risk newborns.
 
Our community believed in the need for a better experience for mother’s giving birth and their families. Driven by our donors, that vision became a reality with the opening of the Rawlco Centre.

Want to know more? Check out this short video.

Did you know? In 2018, more than 4,300 babies were born at RGH, with 475 of them spending time in the NICU.