IWK Health is an internationally-recognized and respected academic health sciences centre based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, with campuses located across the province. We provide primary care for two million women, gender diverse populations, children, youth, and families across the Atlantic Canadian region. We are also a centre for world-class research into disorders and diseases affecting children and women.
We are fortunate to have a team of 3400 employees, 250 physicians, a wonderful team of volunteers, and a research community of over 700 investigators, staff, trainees, and students—it is through their efforts that we are able to realize our purpose every day.
We deliver services through three programs: Children's Health, Mental Health and Addictions, and Women's and Newborn Health. Across all three our approach is rooted in a collaborative model that integrates talented people with new technologies, research, training, and clinical excellence. We’re proud to provide the most complex levels of care in our region; we’re a strong advocate for the health of families; and we’re a global leader in research and knowledge sharing.
Committed to equity and belonging
Our goal is for IWK Health to be a safe and supportive space for both the people we care for, and the professionals we employ. Accordingly, we are active in our efforts to eliminate discrimination and promote an anti-racist environment.
Working in Mi’kma’ki and providing care to those across Atlantic Canada is a shared privilege with the original inhabitants. There are 13 First Nation communities across Nova Scotia, and more than 50 historic African Nova Scotian communities who also have a long, deep, and complex history here dating back over 400 years. We have the highest percentage of people with disabilities in the country, as well as the highest proportions of transgender and non-binary people.
We welcome all who self-identify as Indigenous, Black/African Nova Scotians, Persons of Colour, Immigrants/Newcomers, Persons with Disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ to apply to support our goal for our workforce to be representative of the patients, families, and communities that we care for at all job levels.
A snapshot of care
In just one recent year, the IWK helped with:
- 4,587 babies deliveries
- 32,953 visits to Children’s Emergency Department
- 106 LifeFlight transfers
- 261,469 outpatient clinic visits
- 65,297 virtual appointments
- 3,936 pediatric surgeries
- 2,860 adult health surgeries
- 36,474 mammograms
- 14,030 acute inpatient admissions
- 34,906 COVID-19 Tests
- 52,955 COVID-19 vaccinations
The ways we help
Primary Care
Care to which users have direct access. This type of care can include diagnosis and treatment; referral to secondary health care services; prevention care; and heath promotion and education. Primary health care might involve visiting your family doctor or nurse practitioner, talking to a dietician or a pharmacist, or calling a toll-free health advice line to talk to a health professional.
Secondary Care
Care for which patients do not have direct access and for which they must be referred from some other part of the health system. This category includes most of our Health Centre specialist services.
Tertiary care
A form of care that is highly specialized and complex.
Teaching and research
IWK Health is respected for world-class research into disorders and diseases affecting children and women. As a teaching institution, we are affiliated with Dalhousie University and serve as a primary clinical resource for pediatric and obstetric teaching of a broad range of health professions including medicine, nursing, other allied health services and child life.
Reaching farther
Our specialists take their expertise to Maritime communities in the form of traveling clinics, computer-based videoconferencing technology, and a team of nurses and respiratory therapists who travel by air and ground ambulance to outlying Maritime communities to stabilize and transfer critically ill newborns, older children, and mothers with high-risk pregnancy situations.
Our values and commitments
- Acting from the heart: Generosity, empathy, and kindness are the core of who we are. We are fuelled by connection, warmth, compassion, positivity and friendliness.
- Making things better: We’re here to make a difference. We are invested in listening, reflecting and working together. We are fully committed to excellence and having a positive, meaningful impact.
- Driven by learning: Our drive to learn and be our best comes from a spirit of collective curiosity and imagination. We’re motivated by excellence and big ideas. We dare to dream and see the possibilities.
- Tackling our challenges: Our commitment, dedication and resilience guide us through adversity. We use flexibility, creativity and adaptability to find solutions to our challenges. No matter how difficult the path, we lead by persevering and helping each other weather any storms.
- Optimizing our potential: We realize greatness as we work together to co-create our present and our future. Recognizing the contribution we all have to offer, we build upon one another’s strengths toward achieving our shared vision and goals. As we work collaboratively, we share our uniqueness and our diverse perspectives as a beacon to improve and move forward.
- Cultivating belonging: We co-create the conditions for belonging so all of us can thrive. Committed to equity, fairness and diversity, we accept and value all people. As we nurture safe and brave cultures, we develop open and inclusive relationships where everyone is invited to meaningfully contribute.
Enjoy a rich and rewarding life in Nova Scotia
We have a population of just over a million people, who have the advantage of living in a province where you are never more than 67km from the ocean. You should know that:
- The average cost in 2023 to buy a home = $511,600
- Over 99,000 residents speak French
- We have some of the mildest weather in Canada
- We have 10 universities
- The second language in Halifax is Arabic
- We have a vibrant film and wine industry
- We have a Canadian premier soccer team, two Major Junior Hockey League teams and a National Basketball League
