VANCOUVER – St. Paul’s Foundation announced the largest donation in Canadian history by a private citizen to a single medical facility. This unprecedented donation will support the transformation of healthcare for British Columbians with the creation of the new St. Paul’s at the Jim Pattison Medical Centre, a world-class medical and research centre in the heart of Vancouver.

“On behalf of the Jim Pattison Foundation, I am proud to donate to St. Paul’s Foundation for a hospital that has been putting people first in our community for more than 120 years,” said Jim Pattison (pictured), chairman and CEO of the Jim Pattison Group. “The new Jim Pattison Medical Centre will build on St. Paul’s Hospital’s history of serving British Columbians with excellence and compassion, and enable close collaboration among clinicians and researchers to collectively drive new standards in healthcare and treatment for all British Columbians.”

The new Jim Pattison Medical Centre will be a purpose-built, fully-integrated health campus, comprising the entire 18.4-acre site on Station Street in the False Creek Flats. Building on St. Paul’s global reputation for leadership and innovation in clinical care and research, the Jim Pattison Medical Centre will be a hub for services that reach across Vancouver and the province of BC.

“Today, Jim Pattison has stepped forward to transform healthcare on a scale this country has never seen,” said Dick Vollet, president and CEO, St. Paul’s Foundation. “Jim Pattison’s gift will help us realize an exceptionally rare opportunity to build a major medical and research centre from the ground up that will establish its place among the most highly regarded and recognized medical centres in North America.”

The Jim Pattison Medical Centre will include St. Paul’s Hospital with its associated acute-and-critical-care programs; the provincial Heart Centre, Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and other centres of excellence in healthcare and research; primary care and specialized outpatient clinics; the PHC Research Institute; research facilities; and life sciences industry partners.

The new Centre will lead the delivery of B.C.’s new model of healthcare by providing patients with the highest quality integrated, compassionate, patient-centred care. In planning the new Jim Pattison Medical Centre, St. Paul’s has the unique opportunity to begin a project of this magnitude from a blank canvas.

This allows the freedom to design and develop a medical centre that is built from St. Paul’s philosophy of patients first. This will translate into a health campus that is specifically designed for unique and diverse patient populations to provide an improved patient care experience for all.

“A gift of this magnitude will have an impact today, and for generations to come,” said Dr. Jeff Pike, physician and director of clinical planning for Providence Health Care’s Redevelopment Project. “Our patients’ care experience will be greatly improved, and they’ll be supported from hospital to community to home – receiving the right care, at the right time, at the right place.”

About St. Paul’s
St. Paul’s is a world renowned centre of research, teaching and patient care. Since 1894, St. Paul’s has built a tradition of excellence and compassionate care for the people of BC, including some of our most marginalized populations. Today, St. Paul’s cares for hundreds of thousands of people each year and conducts research and teaching initiatives that benefit patients locally, nationally and globally.

About St. Paul’s Foundation
St. Paul’s Foundation raises funds to support inspired care, research, and teaching at St. Paul’s Hospital, a treasured provincial health resource for all British Columbians, specializing in the care of people with heart and lung disease, renal disease, HIV/AIDS, mental health and substance use issues, and people living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. St. Paul’s integrates the best clinical care with real-world research and education, and provides compassionate care to our patients from across BC who made more than 500,000 visits last year. For project information, visit www.thenewstpauls.com.