London's Children's Hospital marks 100th birthday

London's Children's Hospital is marking 100 years of care since it opened its doors on Oct. 29, 1922.

The hospital has treated two million children over the century, officials said at an event celebrating the anniversary. 

"What's different now is what didn't happen before — children didn't make it, and now they are making it," said Children's Hospital President Nash Syed.

"Not only are they making it, but they're living full lives." 

The hospital started as a three-storey building and was named the War Memorial Children's Hospital to remember those who fought in the First World War. There were 60 beds available for care in 1922 — a number that tripled in the 1970s. That building will be preserved as part of the SoHo Vision Alliance's redevelopment of the former hospital grounds, which will be made into affordable housing units. 

In 1985, the hospital was moved to London's Westminster neighbourhood and was renamed to the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario, under the London Health Sciences Centre banner. 

The 100-year anniversary celebrates the child-friendly spaces that have evolved, helping youngsters recover faster, Syed said. 

Advances include tools such as the Rosa One Brain, which can perform minimally invasive surgery on patients with epilepsy, making recovery time much faster. Families can now also access urgent care for children virtually, allowing a team to recommend care and save hospital trips. 

Children's Hospital has been seeing a record number of emergency visits, with an average of 180 patients in the pediatric emergency room, amid increasing staff burnout and shortages. 

Steven McLean was born a preemie in 1991, weighing less than one kilo (2.2 lb), under half the average weight of a healthy newborn. 

He got life-saving treatment, followed by more than 130 hospital visits until he was age 18. He still remembers feeling overwhelmed on his first day as a registered nurse at the hospital in 2017. 

"It means a lot, just to be a part of it," McLean said, adding he wanted to practise health care at the hospital from years of seeing it from the hospital bed. 

"It means so much that you're with families and patients who are going through a lot. It can be scary but it can be extremely rewarding."