Providence Health Care announced Monday morning that St. Paul’s Hospital will no longer be located on Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver.
Instead, the hospital will be moved to a new, roughly $1-billion building near Main Street and Terminal Avenue.
The new facility is being planned for Station Street, less than three kilometres from the hospital’s current location. It will include both primary and critical care services, as well as the following list of features, included in a release announcing the plan:
- 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
Providence Health Care is also considering the inclusion of social housing units in the Station Street development, according to the release.
Monday’s announcement does not come as a surprise to many.
Earlier this month, Vancouver West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert told reporters the provincial government no longer planned to renovate St. Paul’s Hospital on its existing site.
That idea contradicted the plan proposed by the province in 2012, which promised a new tower at the Burrard Street site and roughly $500 million in renovations.
The change drew harsh criticism from Chandra Herbert, whose riding does not include the hospital’s new location.
“We need a hospital downtown,” he said earlier this month. “We need an emergency room downtown.”
At a press conference announcing the new plan, Providence Health Care board chairman Geoff Plant told reporters that some key primary hospital services could remain in the West End after St. Paul’s relocates.
Mt St Joseph's could move to new station street site as well. #bcpoli #vanpoli #stpauls
— Mi-Jung Lee (@ctvmijunglee) April 13, 2015
Providence says the current site would require over $80 million in noisy seismic upgrades that would need to be done in stages and take years to complete.
The announcement ended years of speculation about the fate of St. Paul's, with opponents saying Vancouver needs a downtown hospital to serve the needs of an aging population.
Dr. Dan Kalla, who heads the hospital's emergency department, says the new 18.5-acre site near False Creek will include expanded services that can't be added to the current facility.
With files from The Canadian Press
