UBC Hospital (UBCH) will never be the same. It will be better.

“Our team has proven itself on the national stage as a provider of quality surgical services,” says Tracey Taulu, Operations Director, UBCH.

In 2015, UBCH won the Meritorious Performing Hospital Award for outstanding surgical outcomes from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) for the second consecutive year — a first for any hospital in Canada.

 “The UBC Hospital Renewal Project will help us build on our achievements,” Tracey explains. “We’ll enhance Koerner Pavilion’s surgical and high-acuity bed capacities to accommodate more complex surgical cases, and we’ll grow and enhance other patient care spaces too.”

Funded by our VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, the UBCH Renewal Project is a major capital initiative that will transform the hospital’s inpatient clinical spaces and much more.

The future of surgery

Our award-winning Surgical Short Stay team: back row (l to r): Jemima, Cristy, Elvis, Layla, Candy and Kyra; front row (l to r): Ofelia, Rosalina, Maryanne, Julane, Alda, Meredith, Blanche and Annie.

Part of a broader strategy to improve patient access to timely surgery, the UBCH Renewal Project will work in concert with proposed plans to build a new state-of-the-art perioperative suite at VGH (see VGH OR Renewal Project).*

Relocating all but the most complex scheduled cases from VGH to UBCH will mean more Vancouver Acute patients will obtain surgery within waitlist target times. Without the daily interference of unscheduled and emergency surgeries at VGH, more surgeries will proceed as scheduled at UBCH.

“By leveraging the unique strengths of each hospital campus, UBC Hospital and VGH will work as one to ensure patients benefit from the quality surgical services they need, when they need them,” says Dr. Bas Masri, Surgeon-in-Chief and Head of Orthopaedics, Vancouver Acute.

A project in two phases

The UBCH Renewal Project will enhance Koerner Pavilion’s surgical and high-acuity bed capacities to accommodate more complex surgical cases.

With physician and staff input, detailed planning for renovations and the expansion and relocation of services on the UBCH campus has begun. A multi-year initiative, the UBCH Renewal Project will involve two phases of work:

Phase 1 (2016-2017): Laying the foundation

• Relocate Volunteer Services to Purdy Pavilion ground floor.
• Relocate Spiritual Care within Purdy Pavilion.
• Consolidate the Sleep Lab and Sleep Clinic into an expanded nine-bed Sleep Program providing 24/7 service on the ground floor of Purdy Pavilion.
• Upgrade Medical Device Reprocessing Department and OR equipment and infrastructure to support the expansion of inpatient clinical services.

 Phase 2 (2017-2018): Inpatient clinical space

• Renovate Koerner Pavilion floors 1 and 2 to enhance inpatient units and to accommodate a purpose-built eight-bed High Acuity Unit.

Learn more on April 28

All UBCH physicians, staff and stakeholders are invited to the project kick-off to learn more and meet project team members and VCH leadership.

When: Thursday, April 28

• 2:30 to 3 pm: networking and refreshments
• 3 to 4 pm: presentation and Q & A

Location: UBCH Koerner Pavilion, Koerner Lecture Theatre (Room G279)

Question?

The UBCH Renewal Project team welcomes your comments and questions at any time. Please send them to OneVancouver@vch.ca using the email subject line: “UBCH Renewal”.

* The VGH OR Renewal Project is currently under review for final approvals.