Millions donated to the Children’s Hospital

A generous gift to Alberta Children’s Hospital will soon create new pain and rehabilitation services for Calgary’s youngest patients.

The Riddell family has given $15 million to the foundation in honour of their departed matriarch Vi a former nurse at the ACH.

According to the foundation, this is the largest single gift they have ever received.

“We are deeply humbled by such incredible generosity,” said Saifa Koonar, President and CEO
of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. “This gift is so much about love – Vi’s 30-year
dedication to children at our hospital, the Riddell family’s love for Vi and their desire to enhance
her lasting legacy, and every family’s wish for their kids to be able to live to their fullest
potential.”

The new ‘Vi Riddell Children’s Pain & Rehabilitation Centre’ will operate on the main floor and lower level of the hospital.

“This hospital and the children who need it always held a special place in Vi’s heart,” said Clay
Riddell. “My family and I truly hope this new centre will find new ways to reduce the pain and
disability that kids experience so they can grow up to live happy and productive lives.”

“This generous gift from the Riddell family will enable specialists at the Alberta Children’s
Hospital to offer their expertise to even more children who suffer from chronic pain and
disability, so they can grow up to become stronger as individuals and we can become stronger
as a community,” said Premier Alison Redford.

“This wonderful gift is going to help us take a quantum leap forward in the care we provide,” said
Dr. Peter Farran, pediatric anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist at the Alberta
Children’s Hospital. “These are children whose disability and pain have beaten them down and
robbed them of their courage. A new broader-based program will help them reach potential they
often don’t even know they have, so they can achieve their dreams, even if those dreams are
simply to finish school, make friends and be happy.”