Care comes first because of you
Through your generosity, you make it possible to deliver innovative, compassionate care to tens of thousands of people—and create solutions for some of the most pressing issues in health care today.
2023
Annual Report
Your impact
Jason has a new heart thanks to you
“I am living, walking proof of what a donation – be it an organ or money – means to transplant patients. Your support helps to ensure that the extraordinary level of care I received, and all of the innovation and advanced medical equipment I benefited from, are available to everyone who comes to St. Paul’s Hospital.”– Jason Gray-Stanford, grateful heart transplant recipient
St. Paul’s Hospital performs all adult heart transplants in the province. Last year 21 patients were given a new life through heart transplants at St. Paul’s.
Thanks to donors like you, patients like Jason get life-saving care when they need it most.
Channeling grief into action and healing
Steven Diamond was a cherished father, son, brother, and addictions counsellor. He was killed by fentanyl in 2016. Every single day in BC, seven more lives are lost to overdose – a terrible and preventable tragedy.
To honour his life and legacy, the Diamond family recently announced an incredible $20 million donation to fund the Road to Recovery at St. Paul’s Hospital: a first-in-Canada model of treatment with the potential to transform addiction care right across the country.
Thanks to the Diamond family’s generosity, patients will be able to move seamlessly through the Road to Recovery to get the treatment services they need as they need them. It will cut waitlists and expedite access to the Rapid Access Addiction Clinic, withdrawal management, in-patient recovery-focused beds, outpatient treatment, and more.
Your support is helping detect lung cancer sooner
Thanks to your support, a new lung nodule clinic opened at St. Paul’s Hospital this year. It’s providing rapid assessments to ensure patients with potential lung cancer get diagnosed and treated sooner.
Imagine getting a routine screening for kidney stones and learning you have a potentially cancerous nodule on your lung. The radiologist would alert your physician. Next steps would involve a closer review of the results by a specialist. You might then be put on a waitlist to have your results examined further. And all this might happen before you were even tested for lung cancer.
Under the guidance of Drs. Scott Apperley and Tawimas Shaipanich, both clinical respirologists at St. Paul’s Hospital, the new clinic creates a much-needed safety net for patients by providing faster assessments for lung cancers.
“The lengthy waiting time is distressing,” says Dr. Apperley. “There is a psychological impact to learning you might have lung cancer.” This is especially true for all of the British Columbians who don’t have family doctors to help understand and navigate that process.
Now, when radiologists see suspicious indicators for lung cancer, they can send the scan directly to the lung nodule clinic for review. If the findings indicate the presence of lung cancer, they can reach out to offer the patient an expedited assessment.
“We want to ensure that everyone with a lung nodule can be assessed by someone fully-trained in recognizing lung cancer,” explains Dr. Apperley.
Because of generous donors like you, we’re bringing innovation and compassion to the diagnosis of lung conditions, lung nodules, and early lung cancers. Thank you!
An air traffic control centre. For a hospital!
Providence Health Care has become the first-in-BC to launch a Care Coordination Centre (CCC) thanks to a generous gift from the Mr. and Mrs. P.A. Woodward’s Foundation. And yes, it really is similar to air traffic control as a way to coordinate all the moving parts of our busy hospital.
Here’s how it works. Monitors, workstations, and mobile devices are loaded with smart, powerful tech. Staff can then use any of those devices to coordinate the thousands of steps and decisions that happen as patients arrive; are admitted; have tests, treatments, or surgery; and are discharged back home or to their communities. And, they can glean real-time insight – 24/7 – on beds, capacity, bottlenecks, inpatient status, and almost anything else that needs action.
The CCC will also bring enhancements for staff who work at the bedside, so they can focus more on delivering patient care and less on coordinating that care.
Analysing data from the CCC will also provide metrics on what’s likely to happen in the coming hours and days, so teams can spot potential issues and proactively intervene. For example, if a unit is predicted to be full by midnight, teams could adjust patient bed assignments or avoid admitting additional patients to that unit.
“We are thrilled to make this technology possible,” said Kip Woodward, speaking on behalf of the Woodward family. “This new system will make it easier for nurses, physicians, and care teams to provide compassionate care. When we saw the opportunity to make a real difference, we thought this was a perfect fit.”
Once we move to the new St. Paul’s Hospital, this digital transformation will be supported by a 2,800 square foot, purpose-built space to be called the Mr. and Mrs. P.A. Woodward’s Foundation Care Coordination Centre.
Life-saving skills and training
The Simulation Program at St. Paul’s Hospital recently purchased a new simulation manikin, called the SimMan 3G Plus. SimMan is the newest, most realistic, and advanced patient simulator on the market, and our team has this tool thanks to your support.
SimMan is a lifesaving tool that helps staff practice immersive training for real-world care procedures, such as emergency tracheotomies and advanced life support for cardiac arrest. Unlike older manikin models, staff can also train with real clinical devices, from blood pressure measurement to defibrillation.
“What this [training] means for our providers, and for patients and their families is immeasurable,” says Dr. Shannon Lockhart, medical co-lead for the simulation program at St. Paul’s. “It means safer systems within the hospital, more proficient practitioners, increased capacity to reduce burnout, and the skills to guide difficult patient journeys with empathy.”
Last year, more than 1,200 people participated in simulation training at St. Paul’s Hospital. Medical staff come from across BC to participate, including Dr. Mary Koziol, a primary care physician who practices in rural and Indigenous communities in Northern BC.
“As someone who works in remote communities, simulation training is invaluable,” says Dr. Koziol, “I get to make mistakes in a safe setting where no one gets hurt. Then, I bring those learnings to my patients.”
Your support of this program means visiting physicians can bring their training back to their communities.
“With the help of St. Paul’s, I am building a simulation program for the UBC Family Medicine Indigenous site. It will offer medical residents in remote Indigenous communities the opportunity to build their skills, teamwork, knowledge, and confidence,” says Dr. Koziol.
With simulation training, doctors who might not otherwise consider it gain the confidence to do rural and remote work. Thank you!
A new model for long-term care across BC
Across BC, you’re helping us create vibrant long-term care homes that genuinely look and feel like real homes. One of our most ambitious projects is the construction of Canada’s first publicly-funded, non-profit ‘dementia village,’ taking shape right now in Comox, BC. Your support has made the research and construction of this project possible.
The “dementia village” concept originated in the Netherlands. It embraces most of the things we enjoy about living in our own homes: freedom of movement, access to the outdoors, personal choice, and community. It’s about living as independently as you want or are able.
Providence Living at The Views is slated to welcome its first residents in 2024. When it’s full up and running, it will be home to 156 people.
Truly, this is the care you’ll want for your loved ones. It’s the care you’ll want for yourself.
Gone are the days of shared bedrooms and bathrooms. Accommodations at the new home will be organized into households. Each will include a cluster of 12 private bedrooms, each with its own private bathroom. Households will share a kitchen and a common lounge area equipped in much the same way as your own home would be. So you can fix a simple meal, do your own laundry, and socialize with friends and family.
Residents can come and go as they please. For safety, the whole complex is outfitted with sophisticated, real-time monitoring to keep residents safe.
The households are all built around an interior garden that’s almost an acre in size. Residents and their guests will be free to explore this green parkland that makes up their own backyard.
Amenities in the home include a coffee shop, daycare, and playground so the whole complex becomes its own thriving community with people of all ages enjoying each other’s company.
Providence Living at The Views is the first of three homes Providence is committed to building. The next one is slated to take shape in the heart of Vancouver at Heather and 33rd.
“The biggest thing is that people won’t have to fear living in a care facility,” says Mark Blanford, President and CEO of Providence Living. “This is an extension of your own home: a place that honours your values, your traditions, and the interests that you have.”
“That’s something we can all be proud of,” says Mark.
Leadership message
“Donors make a difference. Through your generosity, you make it possible to deliver innovative, compassionate care to tens of thousands of people – and create solutions for some of the most pressing issues in health care today. Because of you, we can meet essential needs, support leading edge research, and enhance the lives of patients, residents, and staff in countless ways. With several transformative projects on the way including a new hospital, medical campus, and long-term care village in Comox, you’re helping to change the future of health care in BC and beyond. We could not do this without you. From all of us, thank you!”
Dick Vollet, President and CEO & Glenn Ives, Chair of the Board
Thank you
Your support gives all of us — doctors, nurses, care aids, and staff — the tools and resources we need to deliver the best care possible.