Photo from the 2018 Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Radiothon in downtown Regina.

The ribbon was cut Thursday morning on the brand new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatchewan. The CEO of the Foundation for that hospital says it is a great day for Saskatchewan people because this is the hospital they built.

75 million dollars in donations was raised for the hospital. Brynn Boback-Lane points out that in addition to all the medical innovations, from the infrastructure to the most technical equipment, they also dedicated their efforts to providing an enriched environment for children and their families.

This hospital has 24 hour Children’s Emergency, a helipad for STARS air ambulance, a theatre, family rooms, spaces for teens to hang out, there is even a space set up for accredited teachers to instruct so kids can keep up with their school work.

The Child Life Zone gives kids and teens a break from medical treatment while allowing them, through a miniature replica MRI and ambulance, to make the tools of health care become less intimidating.

To help patients and families navigate the building it is divided into animal themed pods which include Moose, Prairie Dog, Frog and Fox pods. There is even child care provided for families to leave little ones who have another child in hospital.

It is home to Saskatchewan’s first pediatric cath lab which means that children no longer have to travel outside of the province for minor heart procedures. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will open with 44 bassinets, the Maternal Care Centre will have 65 private patient rooms and overall there are 176 private patient rooms in the new hospital.

While the ribbon was cut on Thursday morning, patients won’t start coming into the facility until September 29th.

Over 5 million dollars has been raised by Harvard Broadcasting with radiothons in support of the hospital over the past many years.