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Description

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BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre
BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority PHSA is the only facility in BC devoted primarily to the health of women newborns and families We provide a broad range of specialized tertiary and primary and secondary health services that address the health needs of women of all ages and backgrounds We also provide training for providers across the province In all our work BC Womens strives to provide excellence in care research and teaching

The PHSA plans manages and evaluates selected specialty and provincewide health care services across BC working with the five geographic health authorities to deliver provincewide solutions that improve the health of British Columbians

Vision
Improved health for all women and their families

Mission
To lead the way to best practice for women infants and their families

Values
Women and Family Centered Approaches

Health is not simply about biological differences or reproductive health Social differences have a profound effect on womens health Women and familycentered care incorporates issues that extend beyond traditional medical interventions placing health in its broader context of social determinants Our services need to be designed to meet patients needs striving to minimize fragmentation and complexity in using our services

Accessibility Diversity amp Inclusiveness

We believe that all BC women and their families deserve high quality health services appropriate to their needs and circumstances Our patients and clients should benefit from health care and services that are respectful and address health needs in the social and cultural contexts of their experience

Comprehensive amp Holistic Approaches

We aim to provide a comprehensive service to our patients and clients and are committed to an interdisciplinary approach to clinical care teaching and research

EvidenceBased Quality

BC Womens aims to achieve excellence through research evaluation education and innovation

Accountability

We need to be accountable to our clients funders and communities in BC Demonstrating efficiency and effectiveness is the responsibility of all of us We are committed to managing resources to optimize our capacity to fulfill our mandate

Mutual Respect

We value the contributions of all our staff and our partners across BC as we work to implement our vision

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History

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History

Key dates events and accomplishments for BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre

1927 In January the corner stone of the Grace Hospital was laid The hospital was officially opened at the corner of Heather and 26th streets with 50 beds and bassinets on October 2 1927

1943 Grace helped more than 1000 births for the first time 1117 in total

1957 The first set of triplets was born at Grace

1960 Grace reached 50000 births

1977 During its 50th Anniversary Grace reached 100000 births

1982 In April 2 the official opening of the new Grace Hospital was held on the Oak Street site Facilities included 120 adult beds 94 bassinets and 15 delivery suites It was established as the centre for tertiary obstetrical care for BC

1982 Became the first hospital in Canada to have midwives providing care

1987 Grace set the record with 8235 deliveries and established itself as the busiest maternity hospital in Canada

1989 The Grace Hospital Foundation was established

1992 The quotCentre for Prenatal Diagnosis and Treatmentquot was opened by Health Minister Elizabeth Cull Premier Mike Harcourt and Mayor Gordon Campbell The Centre became a quotone stopquot service for a variety of prenatal services

1992 In April the Womens Health Centre was opened as part of the University Hospital Shaughnessy Site

1993 In April the Neonatal Care Nursery opened providing incubatorbassinet space for 10 premature underweight andor infected babies It cared for more than 1100 babies a year

1993 In February the University Hospital Shaughnessy site closure was announced Grace Hospital continued to operate reaching 200000 births in August 27

1994 In February the Salvation Army officially handed over responsibility for the hospital to the BC government that established an interim board of management

1994 March 31 British Columbias Womens Hospital and Health Centre Society formed joining the hospital with the Womens Health Centre

1996 The British Columbia Consortium for Womens Health was granted an award to develop a Centre of Excellence for Womens Health Funded by Health Canada and led by BC Womens the consortium brought together organizations and institutions across the province with a common interest of improving the health of all BC women

1996 With the goal of reducing the wait for diagnosis after an abnormal mammogram the Breast Health Program was opened at BC Womens in November 1996 in partnership with the BC Cancer Agency The median wait for diagnosis has decreased from nine weeks to nine days

1997 The Provincial Health Services Authority was established to plan manage and evaluate selected specialty and provincewide health care services across BC working with the five geographic health authorities to meet local and regional needs Part of this role involves operating health care agencies including BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre that focus on specialty health care services for the entire province

2000 The 250000th baby was born at BC Womens marking a major milestone

2003 The Nelly Auersperg Award was established through BC Womens to honor the work of Dr Nelly Auersperg who is one of Canadas foremost cell biologists The award supports research that will directly assist women and provide important new information about womens health care

2003 BC Womens launched the Advanced Maternity Fellowship for Rural Practitioners as part of its provincial mandate to provide competent maternity care to all families in the province The Fellowship provides physicians nurses midwives and other allied health care providers with training and education in advanced maternity skills

2004 Advancing the Health of Girls and Women in British Columbia A Provincial Womens Health Strategy is released The plan offers a 10year collaborative womencentred approach to address three priority areas womens health monitoring and surveillance maternity care and mental health and addiction

2004 BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre and Vancouver Coastal Health launched the South Community Birth Program It is the only program of its kind in Canada bringing registered midwives family physicians doulas and nurses together for the first time to provide a cohesive supportive network of care for lowrisk pregnant women

2005 Construction on the new Single Room Maternity Care unit was completed with the addition of nine new single maternity care rooms to those on the existing Cedar ward Moms labor birth recover and care for their new babies together with dad or other family members in those priceless first hours of life The provincial government provided 25 million and BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre Foundation provided 11 million

2005 BC Womens began leading Provincial Specialized Perinatal Services BCs first provincewide initiative bringing all regional health authorities together to improve planning and delivery of these vital services and to address common challenges This partnership helps BCs hospitals grow their capacity to meet the needs of their region and standardizes models of care

2005 BC Womens established the Womens Health Research Institute WHRI to enhance and galvanize the impact of womens health research conducted at BC Womens and throughout BC The WHRI is one of the few institutes in Canada with a specialized focus of improving the health of girls and women Its aim is to create change in the health care system and offer leadership in womens health research to improve our understanding and treatment of disease and injury among women

2006 The Asian Womens Health Clinic where all staff speak Cantonese or Mandarin took up permanent residence at BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre The clinic is a partnership program with Vancouver Coastal Health SUCCESS and BC Womens The clinic addresses cultural and linguistic barriers that often prevent Chinesespeaking women from receiving basic care

2006 The UBC Centre for Reproductive Health moved into its new home on site at BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre The UBC Centre provides comprehensive fertility services for women and couples including treatments for issues like polycystic ovary syndrome abnormal menstruation endometriosis pelvic pain and male infertility

2006 The Continence Clinic at BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre celebrated its 10th anniversary The clinic provides treatment for women of all ages who are experiencing bladder or bowel control problems Continence issues affect about 15 million Canadians

2007 The Reproductive Mental Health program at BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre moved into its new home a new 19million mental health building at the BC Childrens and BC Womens Oak Street Campus The program provides comprehensive assessment treatment and followup for women with mental health concerns associated with their reproductive cycle

2007 BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre received the Kroeger College Award for Management from Carleton Universitys Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs for maintaining a high level of quality care The Management Award honours those who have demonstrated excellence in management in program design and implementation service improvement social or commercial marketing organizational strategy or the effective management of human resources

2008 Based on the recommendation from the Newborn Screening Advisory Committeeincluding medical experts from BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centrethe provincial newborn screening program for metabolic disorders is being expanded Newborns will be screened for 19 disorders up from six Screening newborns means earlier detection of treatable disorders and prevention of lifelong health problems The expansion is being phased in with full implementation expected by 2010

2008 BC Womens Hospital amp Health Centre was designated a BabyFriendly Hospital by the World Health Organization and UNICEF BC Womens is the largest specialized hospital in Canada to be designated The designation recognizes the commitment of BC Womens to enabling mothers to breastfeed their newborns More than 85 per cent of the 7500 babies born each year at BC Womens are being breastfed by the time they are ready to go home

2008 The Fir Square Combined Care Unit program at BC Womens which provides care for substanceusing women and their substanceexposed newborns received an Innovative Services Award of Excellence from British Columbias Representative for Children and Youth The award recognizes individuals and organizations that deliver services to benefit children and youth in innovative and effective ways and who show a commitment to professional excellence