Regina General Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is expanding from 25 to 28 beds, with three new bassinets opening in early September to give premature and medically fragile babies better access to intensive care in southern Saskatchewan.
The expansion is backed by $8.32 million from the Government of Saskatchewan in the 2026-27 budget, including more than $2 million to support staffing for over 17 full-time equivalent positions. The Hospitals of Regina Foundation is adding $800,000 for specialized equipment, with each bassinet costing about $80,000.
“Over the last few years, our NICU has been operating at or beyond capacity on a regular basis,” said Dino Sophocleous, president and CEO of the Hospitals of Regina Foundation. The unit serves as the main intensive care centre for newborns from across southern Saskatchewan and has faced growing demand, including an overcapacity crisis reported by the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses in April 2025.
The extra beds mean fewer families will need to be transferred outside Regina when the unit is full. Saskatchewan Health Authority Chief Operating Officer Derek Miller said the expansion “strengthens support for babies and families when they need it most,” while Executive Director of Maternal and Children’s Programs Kim Woycik said the beds “provide greater flexibility within the system, help us manage our periods of high demand, and ensure more families can access specialized care closer to home.”
The NICU expansion is part of a province-wide push to strengthen pediatric and neonatal care, and the Hospitals of Regina Foundation has now invested over $46 million in Regina’s pediatric services since 1987.
