St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver)

St. Paul's Hospital
Providence Health Care
Location in Vancouver
Geography
Location	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates
Organization
Care system	non
Hospital type	Teaching
Affiliated university	UBC Faculty of Medicine
Services
Emergency department	Yes
Speciality	Cardiac, HIV/AIDS, renal
History
Founded	1894
Links
Website	providencehealthcare

St. Paul's Hospital is an acute care hospital located in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest of the seven health care facilities operated by Providence Health Care, a Roman Catholic faith-based care provider. St. Paul's is home to many medical and surgical programs, including cardiac services and kidney care including an advanced structural heart disease program. It is also the home of the Pacific Adult Congenital Heart Disease unit.

History

This hospital was founded in 1894 by the Sisters Of Providence who (from their base in Montreal) founded schools, hospitals and asylums all over North America and other continents.

It was named after St. Paul, not the French bishop, Paul Durieu of New Westminster. Mother Mary Fredrick from Astoria, Oregon was the first mother superior and administrator to lead its charge. In keeping with the philosophy of the Sisters of Providence, the new hospital was founded on the pledge of providing compassionate care for everyone in need - tested by a surge in Vancouver’s growth brought on by the Klondike gold rush in the 1890s.

St Paul’s acquired their own X-Ray machine in 1906.

In 2010, the hospital established Angel's Cradle, the first modern Baby hatch in Canada where mothers could anonymously provide their newborns to the hospital rather than abandon them elsewhere. Thirty seconds after a baby has been placed inside the modern version of a 'foundling wheel', a sensor alerts emergency staff. A social worker contacts the Ministry of Children and Family Development which then assumes responsibility for the baby. In its first five years, two healthy babies had been placed in the baby hatch.

Redevelopment

In the 21st Century, there has been ongoing advocacy for redevelopment of the facility. A redevelopment plan was drafted in 2010. In 2012, Premier Christy Clark said at the hospital that business case and development plans would be completed in order to begin construction in 2016.

In 2015, questions continued to be raised whether the redevelopment would maintain full range of existing services at the Burrard Street facility or move some services to a new location near False Creek. On April 13, 2015, Providence Health Care and the provincial government announced the hospital services would move to the new site and grow in size from more than 400 beds to more than 700 beds and an integrated health campus that includes a range of outpatient and ambulatory services:

• full-service critical care hospital
• 24/7 primary care services
• Chronic disease management services
• Mental health and addictions beds and programs
• On-site residential care beds and programs
• Ambulatory services and outpatient clinics
• Non-acute medical services
• A low-risk birthing centre
• End-of-life care
• Research and teaching
• Community Care
• Community Outreach Programs

External links

• Official website
• The Heart Centre
• St. Paul's Hospital Foundation