Then, like now, Richmond healthcare is built on a foundation of local support

Richmond residents can take heart in knowing they have a great local hospital looking after the needs of the people in our community.

But, prior to 1966, Richmond didn’t even have a hospital. It took 13 years of hard work by dedicated residents to get the hospital built. One of those people who helped make it happen was Dr. Richard (Dick) Talmey. 

Community growth sparks need

Originally from Rosthern, Sask., Dr. Talmey moved to Richmond in the 1940s and opened a practice. By the 1950s, Richmond doctors saw a clear need for a local hospital.

Richmond was feeling the growth of the postwar baby boom. New residents were attracted by cheap housing ($10,000!) and subdivisions began to appear in what were once rural fields. While Richmond had doctors, patients requiring hospital care had to go to Vancouver.

In October 1953, Dr. Talmey met with Richmond residents, Sam Montgomery and Rev. Thomas Edwards, to begin planning for a local hospital. Two months later, 70 people met at Richmond High School to launch the Richmond Hospital Society. Fred Aberdeen, who was then a principal at Garden City Elementary School, became the society’s first president. Dr. Talmey was named honorary president.

“In Vancouver there aren’t nearly enough hospital beds for Vancouver alone. Emergencies usually go in an extra bed in the middle of a crowded room. A hospital in Richmond would benefit every man, woman and child,” said Dr. Talmey at the time, noting that Richmond patients would spend more than 30,000 bed days in Vancouver hospitals in 1954.

Dr. richard talmey (left) receiving keys to the new Richmond School Board office from Leslie Peterson, Minister of Education, in 1957. (City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1988 18 44)

The long road to approval

The Richmond Hospital Society spent 10 years fighting to get the hospital built. There were delays in provincial approval, but in a referendum held in 1962, voters said “yes” to Richmond Hospital with Richmond taxpayers expected to pay 35% of the roughly $3.2 million cost of the new hospital. According to the Vancouver Sun, provincial and federal governments payed 50% and 15%, respectively.

In 1964, construction finally began.

On Feb. 27, 1966, Richmond Hospital opened with Dr. Talmey serving as its first chief of medical staff. He was among those honoured for their role in bringing a hospital to Richmond. “Any contribution that I have made pales in comparison to the work done by the (hospital) society over the past 13 years,” Dr. Talmey said at the time. He also vowed that medical staff “would endeavour to supply the same calibre of care as you and this hospital deserve.”

Dick Talmey passed away in 1982, but he left a strong legacy in the community and at the hospital. His dream of a hospital for Richmond resulted in a groundswell of community effort build it. So many people volunteered their time to lobby politicians, canvas for community support, raise funds and plan the hospital’s direction.

Richmond Hospital 2.0

Fifty years have passed and the original North Tower now needs to be replaced to house new operating rooms, new patient beds and address seismic issues to ensure modern, state-of-the-art care for our growing and rapidly aging population of residents, including the many passengers who travel to and from our province though YVR daily.

Then, as now, Richmond Hospital remains a vital part of the community. We rely on generous donations made to Richmond Hospital Foundation, the support of residents, the advocacy of our diverse community leaders and the commitment of government to invest in a new tower sooner rather than later.