IWK Health Centre



The IWK Health Centre is a hospital in the Halifax Regional Municipality providing care primarily to women, children, youth and families from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

History
Although Halifax has been home to a children's hospital since 1909, the original Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children opened in 1970, with the help of a generous donation of $8 million from Dorothy Johnson Killam, wife of the late Izaak Walton Killam.

In 1996 the IWK Hospital for Children and the adjacent Grace Maternity Hospital (operated and funded by the Salvation Army) merged and were known as the IWK Grace Children's Hospital until the early 2000s when the indstitution shortened its name to one currently used.

Facility
The facility has undergone numerous expansions in its lifetime. The original 1970 building was joined by the Grace Maternity Hospital in the early 1990s. The two hospitals operated separately for several years before being connected via the Link Building. In the 2000s a new parkade and atrium were constructed and attached to the link building. As of February 2006 an additional two floors were being added to the link building, which will provide 48,000 square feet of additional space.

Education & Research
The IWK is a respected centre for its world-class research into disorders and diseases affecting children and women. As a teaching institution, the IWK is affiliated with Dalhousie University and serves as a primary clinical resource for pediatric and obstetric teaching of a broad range of health professions including medicine, nursing, other allied health services and child life.

Location
The IWK Health Centre is located in the south end of Halifax, fairly close to the centre of the city. The front entrance is on University Avenue between Robie Street and Tower Road. A heliport (ICAO code CIW2) is situated on the roof of the western portion of the hospital.

Statistics

 * Approximately 5000 babies are delivered at the hospital each year.
 * There are 2,976 employees at the IWK.
 * 147 air transports completed.
 * 1,298,717 tests completed in IWK labs.
 * $10.9 million of funded research was underway at the IWK last year.