Watch above: The Boys on the Bus made a stop at the Stollery Children’s Hospital Friday morning for a special announcement. John Sexsmith has the details.
EDMONTON — As the 1984 Stanley Cup winning Edmonton Oilers team continues its reunion tour in the City of Champions, the Boys on the Bus made a stop at the Stollery Children’s Hospital for a special announcement.
The new Edmonton Oilers Ambulatory Clinic was officially unveiled Friday morning. The $15.8 million facility brings more than 40 services, previously located at different Alberta Health Services sites, under one roof.
“The significance of that is we can provide more services for children in a coordinated fashion on an outpatient basis,” explained Tracy MacDonald, COO of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.
With patient volume expected to increase by 30 per cent over the next 10 years, the new space will help meet the growing demand. Each of the services has been given additional rooms so more appointments can be booked and more patients can be seen.
“The opening of the Edmonton Oilers Ambulatory Clinic means more kids and families will have access to some of the best outpatient care specialists and services in Canada, and we’re very excited to create a lasting legacy of our proud partnership with the (Edmonton Oilers) hockey club,” added Mike House, president and CEO of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The province contributed $13.8 million to the project. The Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation also contributed a legacy gift, which is part of a $2 million donation from the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The Edmonton Oilers are also raising money for the clinic through the 1984 Stanley Cup reunion event Friday night at Rexall Place.
“As a hockey team, we were a close team; but we’re also under the understanding there’s more to the life than playing hockey. We all had families, we all had wives, we all had kids and you just don’t want to see anybody have to go through something like this,” said Wayne Gretzky.
“This facility is a wonderful facility and the goal is the make the parents smile and get the kids healthy and get them out of here as quickly as possible. And so, for us to be able to help out a little bit with an event like this is all worth it.”
READ MORE: City embraces its 1984 Stanley Cup winning Oilers
Mark Messier, who played alongside Gretzky in the glory days, says every player from the 1984 championship team who toured the facility Friday had a feeling of appreciation.
“What an inspiring visit, what an inspiring tour,” he said. “Visiting the kids and seeing them being able to get the treatment and the care that they really need, and for the Oilers to make this impact, is just an incredible day for everybody.”
The Edmonton Oilers Ambulatory Clinic was previously occupied by adult medical clinics that have moved to the Kaye Edmonton Clinic.