Give to St. Paul’s Foundation

The support of generous donors is more critical than ever. It ensures our medical and research programs remain well-funded, directly impacting the quality of care for patients and residents at PHC. These contributions play a pivotal role in acquiring the latest medical technology for diagnostics and treatment and retaining top-tier clinicians and researchers. Another way donations to St. Paul’s Foundation have made a critical impact on the lives of our patients is through the introduction of bili blankets, making a world of difference for infants with jaundice.

A bili blanket is more than just a medical device – it helps infants and removes the need to be incubated for the first couple of hours of their lives making sure this time is instead spent in the loving arms of their family. Using the blanket, the infant can be held, fed, and even rocked throughout the phototherapy treatment, ensuring much-needed skin-to-skin contact.

This is compassionate, transformative care in action that was entirely funded by donations. This is the power of giving. Learn more.

As a major source of support for our operations and activities, the St. Paul’s Foundation fund is the backbone that enables us to harness the full force of donor support. This generosity fuels innovation and transformation throughout PHC and influences health care across the province. 

Donations drive progress by supporting crucial initiatives. One such program aims to encourage patient-specific prescribing of opioids based on risk stratification. One in five Canadians – more than six million people – are affected by substance use and its related harms. St. Paul’s recognizes that many patients who struggle with addiction use were first prescribed opioids post-surgery; in fact, this number is as high as 25% of people who got surgery. Patients who struggle with anxiety and depression prior to surgery are even more at risk of developing addiction post-surgery, and this knowledge requires a change in our health care practices to address this dire situation. 

PHC is a national leader in opioid stewardship and addiction research and treatment, and now has an opportunity to address it in the peri-operative setting. Leveraging previous work, the team at St. Paul’s is in the midst of creating an evidence-based screening of patients in the peri-operative setting and help to encourage patient-specific prescribing of opioids based on risk stratification. The team anticipates the results of this study will be generalizable to all surgical patients within the Greater Vancouver area, and across the province. 

This work is essential, as safe opioid prescribing and risk assessment of patients is the responsibility of all physicians performing surgery within BC. And this work is a direct result of donations to St. Paul’s Foundation. Learn more.

At St. Paul’s, we believe in the impact of small gestures that can make a world of difference in the experience of our patients. Through generous donations, we have been able to make meaningful interventions, both small and large, that positively impact and improve the lives of our community members. 

Our exceptional and dedicated team at the Foundation passionately champions the extraordinary efforts of PHC’s researchers and medical experts. By forging meaningful connections, we link individuals and organizations with opportunities to impact a diverse range of facilities, programs, and services. 

Imagine walking into a hospital and struggling to fill out a government disability form because you suffered from poor vision and left your reading glasses at home. Imagine the feeling of the blurred words taunting you on the page. Imagine the frustration, the hopelessness. Now, picture walking into St. Paul’s Hospital, struggling to clearly see a form, walking up to the nursing station and asking for a light to help better see the page. Instead, you’re met with a smiling face as they hand you a pair of reading glasses. This is a real example of a patient who was in our care. The transformation was immediate and profound when he was handed those glasses – tears welled in his eyes as he was given the support he needed to complete the form independently, feeling a renewed sense of pride.

Not only is this an example of a donation in action, it also illustrates our commitment to improving the quality of care for all patients, residents, and families who visit our sites.

It’s through the generous support of donors that enables us to extend these meaningful interventions across each of our 17 sites, ensuring that every patient receives the care and assistance they need.