Transforming the future of health care for people living in BC is no mean feat. But thanks to a $2.5 million donation from the Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation, St. Paul’s Foundation is one major step closer to achieving this ambitious goal.
This generous gift will support the acceleration of research and innovation at the Clinical Support and Research Centre (CSRC), which is being built adjacent to the new St. Paul’s Hospital as part of the Jim Pattison Medical Campus. The CSRC is designed to expedite groundbreaking findings from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside, ushering in a new age of impactful medical discoveries and treatments that offer hope to patients in need across BC and beyond.
The Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation is a pillar of giving in this province. It has created a remarkable legacy that has touched countless lives, and truly made the world a better place.
Hamid Eshghi, president of the Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation, expressed his excitement at working with St. Paul’s Foundation and supporting what he expects will become “one of the most advanced medical campuses in Canada.”
“Now is the time to give to St. Paul’s Hospital and Clinical Support and Research Centre”
Hamid Eshghi, president, Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation
The gift also aligns with the Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation’s mandate to uplift the lives of people, particularly children, through supporting health care and education.
“We are very happy,” he says. “This is exactly the right place. The new hospital and medical campus is going to change a lot of things for the future of Greater Vancouver.”
The new St. Paul’s Hospital and CSRC
Providence Health Care (PHC) is building a first-in-Canada medical campus – along the lines of Johns Hopkins and the Cleveland Clinic – that will drive clinical care and research to advance the health of people across BC and beyond. It’s designed to put people first.
Directly adjacent and connected by a sky bridge to the new St. Paul’s Hospital, the CSRC will be the most advanced research facility in Western Canada. The co-location of the new hospital and CSRC will allow clinicians, researchers, and scientists to work side-by-side, giving them the space and tools needed to collaborate and deliver the best care for every patient.
The CSRC is where leaders in life sciences, medicine, and technology will work together to find cures, develop life-saving drugs, and fast-track discoveries from the lab to the hospital to communities across BC and beyond.
Beyond its role as a research and innovation hub, the CSRC is a keystone of a thriving health innovation district in Vancouver’s False Creek Flats. It will unite partners in life sciences, biomedical research, technology, and design, fostering a collaborative ecosystem to create sustainable solutions to the most pressing challenges in health.
Eshghi’s enthusiasm for the medical campus has only grown since he attended a mock room tour showcasing the planned rooms, technology, and usage of the new hospital. These mock rooms, located near the construction site, allow for consultation with past patients and health care workers who are providing input into the construction of key rooms within the hospital.
He was particularly impressed by the project team’s long-term vision: the campus is one of the most digitally advanced in Canada, and designed to accommodate future technology and address the prospective long-term health needs of patients, families, and the community.
The new St. Paul’s Hospital and medical campus is currently the largest, and most ambitious, health care capital project in Western Canada. It’s unrivalled in terms of scope, opportunity, and potential impact.
As an architect, Eshghi acknowledges that “one of the most difficult construction projects is a hospital because it needs to consider the next hundred years of need. During that time, technology will change, equipment will change, a lot of things will change, but you must have the ability in the future to adapt.” he says. “The Providence team has thought of everything to future proof this new medical campus.”
As the cornerstone of the new campus, the CSRC is the vital link that will integrate our world-class research with excellence in patient care. It will give our exceptional clinical and research teams the permanent home they deserve – a place where they can pursue medical breakthroughs that can change lives for people in BC and around the world.
“I am honoured to be able to give back by supporting this new state-of-the-art Clinical Support and Research Centre,” Hamid says. “The Mowafaghian Foundation is proud to support a cause that aligns so closely with our vision to help create a better, healthier world.”
In recognition of the Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation’s support for the CSRC, the larger auditorium in the new hospital’s conference centre will be named the Mowafaghian Auditorium. It will provide purpose-built learning spaces for health care professionals, patients, their families and the community at large.
Purpose built, people first
The success of the new St. Paul’s Hospital and medical campus doesn’t only rest on its impressive foundations, but also on its knowledgeable and passionate staff of world-class medical and research professionals.
Eshghi, whose son was born at St. Paul’s Hospital on Burrard Street, has experienced the dedication of St. Paul’s Hospital health care experts first-hand. Knowing that many staff from the current hospital will be leading the way in the new St. Paul’s Hospital and medical campus gives him further confidence in its potential to change the future of health care.
“The people are wonderful,” he says. “I am confident all these dedicated people working at St. Paul’s who are coming to the new facility will make the most of the new equipment, space, and will set an example of excellence for other hospitals and clinics here in BC and the rest of Canada.”
“This is the right place” to give help
Eshghi is looking forward to when the new hospital opens its doors in 2027, but acknowledges there is still a way to go when it comes to funding other parts of the medical campus in order for the complete vision to be realized.
St. Paul’s Foundation is currently partnering with philanthropic community builders to raise $88 million for the CSRC.
For anyone considering donating, he shares a few words: “For any family living in this beautiful city, now is the time to give to St. Paul’s Hospital and the Clinical Support and Research Centre.”
St. Paul’s Foundation extends deep gratitude to the Mowafaghian Foundation for their generous donation and commitment to improving the lives of British Columbians.
Learn more about opportunities to contribute to the new St. Paul’s Hospital, the CSRC, and the Jim Pattison Medical Campus, and our plans to transform the future of health care in BC and beyond.