Each year, 500 babies need our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the Rawlco Centre for Mother Baby Care, at the Regina General Hospital. Whether they are born early, have complications during or after birth, or arrive as part of a multiple birth, these fragile babies require a safe and calming environment where they are kept warm and comfortable while receiving the specialized care they need in order to grow strong enough to go home with their families.
A NICU isolette is a specialized bed system that provides babies with customized temperature, humidity and light levels. In 2024, our longtime partner, the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, made two donations, totaling $80,000, to support the replacement of one of these isolette.
Inside an isolette, little ones are protected while they continue to develop their lungs, cognitive functions, eyesight and hearing. Isolettes help create an individualized environment where a baby’s temperature is constantly monitored and regulated. They also reduce noise heard by the baby while allowing medical staff and parents easy access to the baby to provide care and treatment.
In 2024, the Foundation funded three new isolettes to equip our NICU with upgraded technology that is used around the clock to provide the best care possible to vulnerable babies.
“I’m incredibly proud to continue Sandra’s legacy by helping fund essential equipment for babies born too soon, too small, or too sick,” says Shannon England, former director of The Sandra Schmirler Foundation. “The Regina General Hospital holds a special place in our hearts, and knowing that our support will fund a new isolette is truly meaningful.”
With its highly trained medical staff and consistent support from Hospitals of Regina Foundation, it is no wonder our NICU is recognized as one of the best neonatal facilities in Canada. This would not be possible without the support of longtime partners like the Sandra Schmirler Foundation.
“We are very grateful to the Sandra Schmirler Foundation,” states Lisa Green, senior vice-president, Hospitals of Regina Foundation. “They have been providing grants to our Foundation since 2005 to support premature and critically ill babies in our NICU. Support like this from our dedicated partners allows us to invest in life-saving technology so that hundreds of babies from across southern Saskatchewan who need our NICU every year receive the best care possible, right here at home.”