Critical Care Units

E. Garner King Critical Care Unit | Unit Type: General Systems ICU | No. of Beds: 43
Site Medical Director: Dr. Dennis Djogovic

The King is a closed unit 32 bed ICU in the Walter Mackenzie Health Sciences Center, located within the University of Alberta Hospital. We are a referral hospital for Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories, and admit over 1700 patients per year. We take great pride in our team based care for a diverse mix of patients including general medical, surgical, trauma and oncology.  Our unit also supports the second busiest liver transplant program in the country and one of few programs in the world that perform full abdominal organ transplants (including liver, renal, pancreatic, islet cell, intestinal and multi-visceral organs).  In 2004 we initiated Edmonton’s first Medical Emergency Team and now respond to over 850 MET activations and 1200 patient follow-ups per year.  A broad range of dedicated and talented paramedical disciplines are involved to support all aspects of the patients and family's care. 

Our unit has exemplary dedication to teaching, as we support over 250 residents, fellows and medical students over the course of an academic year.  The research arm of our unit continues to expand, and researchers cover themes such as sepsis, quality, frailty, care of the elderly, dialysis initiation, health systems research, point of care ultrasound, to name but a few.

Current Site Research Projects

Edmonton Firefighter Burn Treatment Centre | Unit Type: Comprehensive Burn Unit | No. of Beds: 4 
Site Medical Directors: Dr. Ted Tredget and Dr. Dennis Djogovic

The Edmonton Firefighter’s Burn Treatment Unit is an 8 bed comprehensive burn unit, with 4 designated critical care beds and 4 high intensity beds. We are one of only two Canadian units that is an American Burn Association verified burn treatment unit, and we are the only Canadian center that provides its own in-house Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) course. We are a shared management critical care unit specializing in the care of the burned adults and children, and admit over 100 major burns per year. Our dedicated and talented burn surgeons lead research projects from the microscope to the bench to the bedside. Dr Tredget is a former president of the American Burn Association, and the only Canadian surgeon to ever hold this distinction.

The unit also supports the largest head and neck cancer program in Western Canada, which performs over 300 complex head and neck cancer cases per year, and over 180 free flap cases, many of which receive care in our unit. The Head and Neck program are global leaders, pioneering the Alberta Jaw Reconstructive technique, and the Edmonton developed submandibular gland transfer technique.

Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit | Unit Type: Neuroscience ICU | No. of Beds: 15
Site Medical Director: Dr. Dennis Djogovic

The Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is one of only two dedicated neurocritical care units in Canada.  We encompass 11 ventilated ICU beds and 4 high acuity beds and admit over 900 patients per year.  We have a closed unit, and incorporate shared management with our consultant neurologists, neurosurgeons, and spine surgeons.  Our neurosciences unit contributes to a wide range of scholarly pursuits, including research in investigator initiated, CIHR funded, and industry funded projects, and participation in the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Registry.

With a major expansion in planning, and a new neurocritical care fellowship program, these are exciting and optimistic times for Neuro Critical Care in Northern Alberta.  We are proud of our multidisciplinary collaborative care model for patients with complicated neurological and neurosurgical disorders and for our integral work supporting organ donation. 

Related Links:

• Neurocritical Care Society
• European Society of Critical Care Medicine
• Canadian Blood Services - Organ & Tissue Donation and Transplantation

Site Medical Director: Dr. Jonathan Davidow

We are a 25 bed General Systems ICU in the Royal Alexandra Hospital, a 894 bed teaching hospital located in the inner city of Edmonton. We are a closed intensive care unit with a full spectrum of paramedical disciplines. We are a referral hospital for Northern Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan, as well as the Northwest Territories. We manage a broad variety of medical, surgical and trauma patients. We have expertise in the perioperative care of thoracic surgical patients, high risk obstetrics, continuous renal replacement therapy, plasmapheresis, intracranial pressure monitoring, and management of patients with addictions and mental health needs. On average we admit 4 patients/day and over 1,400 patients per year.

We are a cohesive group of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and allied health professionals who take pride in what we do and like to have a little fun while doing it. We aim to run an accommodating and efficient ICU, while maintaining a major focus on quality, safety, patient and family centered care, and care of our vulnerable populations.

Site Medical Director: Dr. Dominic Carney

The Grey Nuns Community Hospital (GNH) is located in southeast Edmonton, Alberta. The GNH is the Northern Alberta Regional Center for vascular surgery. The GNH ICU is an eight bed Medical/Surgical Adult ICU with special expertise in high-risk and emergency vascular surgery. The ICU is a closed intensive care unit, with 24-hour patient management by seven RSPSC-certified Critical Care Medicine specialist physicians who provide 24h per day in-house coverage for more than 500 critically-ill patients annually.

GNCH ICU provides all tertiary critical care services, including advanced forms of mechanical ventilation, acute renal replacement therapy, chronic hemodialysis and plasmapheresis. The ICU also supplies an outreach Rapid Response Team. Multidisciplinary care of the critically-ill patient is emphasized, with the ICU team including critical care fellows, critical care nurses, advanced nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, clinical pharmacists, clinical dieticians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and critical care physicians.

Site Medical Director: Dr. Clint Torok-Both

Misericordia Community Hospital is located in west Edmonton, Alberta. It is a major orthopedic (hip and knee), urologic (lithotripsy) and breast cancer surgery center. It is home to the IRSM program as well as the only inpatient hyperbaric chamber in the province. Its nearby affiliate, Villa Caritas, houses 150 geriatric mental health patients.

The Misericordia ICU is a closed 10 bed medical/surgical unit, staffed by 5 RCPSC-certified Critical Care Medicine physicians. They provide daytime in-house care and 24/7 on call coverage which is supplemented at night with in-house extenders and clinical associates. The ICU team is comprised of an intensivist, nurse practitioner, critical care nurse, pharmacist, respiratory therapist and a dietician, all providing team based care to the patients. The team takes pride in their collaborative approach to patient care and has received acknowledgment of their excellent work on the provincial Delirium Initiative.

The Misericordia ICU, which sees on average 400 admissions per year, provides all tertiary care services for variety of critical illnesses with exception of trauma, neurosurgery and cardiac surgery. It has the expertise and equipment to provide advanced modes of ventilation and life support, continuous renal replacement therapy and plasmapheresis. It also provides a Rapid Response service to the rest of the hospital. The ICU excels in care of neuromuscular patients and in weaning from prolonged mechanical ventilation. The unit’s intensivists are also part of the zonal Chronic Ventilation Program, which spans inpatient and ambulatory care of patients with chronic respiratory failure due to variety of diagnoses.

Site Medical Director: Dr. Oleksa Rewa

The Sturgeon General Hospital is a 5 bed and 3 high intensity bed closed-model intensive care unit. While a relatively small intensive care unit, we provide a valuable service to the people of St. Albert as well as contributing to the total critical care bed pool for central and northern Alberta. We are able to provide a wide variety of multidisciplinary services and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT).

The Sturgeon General Hospital is located in the city of St. Albert, just north of Edmonton.

Unit Director: Dr. Mohamad Zibdawi

The Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) of the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute is a highly-specialized critical care unit.

We are a 24 bed unit staffed full-time by fellowship-certified critical care specialists. The Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute performs approximately 1500 adult cardiac surgical cases annually, including heart transplants, lung transplants, ventricular assist devices, and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) - both veno-arterial and veno-venous.

CVICU supports all adult cardiac surgical patients from Alberta, Northern British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and special referrals from other provinces. Adult congenital cardiac surgical patients are also managed in the CVICU.