Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital is a specialized rehabilitation facility in Edmonton, Alberta, operated by Alberta Health Services. It is a freestanding tertiary hospital focused exclusively on rehabilitation care, not acute emergency or general hospital functions. The hospital’s mission is “Building Abilities for Life™,” and it serves both adults and children with complex rehabilitation needs to help maximize independence, quality of life, and participation in community and daily living.

Services & Clinical Programs

The hospital offers many inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation programs. Examples include adult and pediatric brain injury rehabilitation; adult orthopedic / musculoskeletal inpatient rehab (following surgery or trauma); amputation rehabilitation (assessment, prosthetics, therapy); burn rehabilitation; spinal cord injury rehabilitation; geriatric inpatient rehabilitation including psychiatric care; feeding/swallowing services; adult autism diagnostic clinic; and neurodevelopmental & autism consultation services for children and teens. Diagnostic, assistive technology, prosthetics and orthotics, seating services, telehealth, and other specialized clinic services help support the rehabilitation process.

Patient & Family Experience

Patients are referred into GRH, and stays are typically for several weeks; generally between 3-6 weeks for many inpatient rehab programs, during which care teams set goals with patients and families and begin discharge planning from early in the stay. There is support for accessibility: wheelchair-accessible facilities, public and underground parking, ramps and accessible washrooms. Visitor policy in Edmonton zone hospitals has removed fixed hours, guided by patient care needs. Family involvement, interpreters/translation services, patient & visitor guides, site maps, etc., are available.

Strengths & Challenges

Strengths include its specialized focus exclusively on rehabilitation, which allows concentrating resources, staff expertise, technologies, and programs tailored to complex chronic / recovery needs rather than mixing acute care demands. It handles a wide diversity of rehab situations (neurological, orthopedic, developmental, geriatric, etc.). It is free-standing, meaning less risk of having to compete with emergency/acute hospital traffic. Challenges include that patients needing acute hospital care, surgeries, or emergencies must access those elsewhere; wait times for some rehab or diagnostic / assessment services may be long; travel and accommodation may be burdensome for patients from remote areas; capacity constraints (beds, staff) may limit availability; ensuring continuity of care after discharge is always complex.

Practical Information & Tips

Address: 10230 111 Avenue NW, Edmonton, Alberta, T5G 0B7. Switchboard: 780-735-7999. There is no Emergency Department at this facility. Referrals are required for many programs and for inpatient admission. Bring prior medical documentation / imaging, be ready for several weeks stay in many inpatient programs. Use public transit or parking; there is underground parking, pay-by-plate parking, ramps, and wheelchair-accessible washrooms. For families / patients from afar, plan ahead for travel & lodging, as well as follow-up outpatient or home services after discharge.