Richmond Hospital Foundation CEO Natalie Meixner banged the drums once again in calling for a new acute care tower, this time at a cake-cutting ceremony Friday to celebrate Richmond Hospital’s 50th anniversary.
Meixner’s plea for a new tower was made in front of local politicians, including Richmond Centre MLA Teresa Wat, whose riding includes the hospital.
The special event was held one day before the true anniversary date, Feb. 27, to mark the 1966 opening.
It was also held literally beneath the tower, which would likely collapse or face significant damage during a localized earthquake over 6.0 on the Richter scale.
“While we celebrate the past, we continue to look forward to the future,” said Meixner.
“Our city’s growth has outpaced Richmond Hospital’s capacity. The highest priority for Richmond is a new acute care tower to address seismic risks and provide adequate acute care beds.”
Wat praised hospital staff but stopped short of any sort of commitments for a new tower.
“I can assure you that together with (Richmond East MLA) Linda (Reid) and together with (Richmond-Steveston MLA), John (Yap) we’ll do our best to ensure this hospital will be the best for the many years to come,” said Wat.
She added that the provincial government funded $67 million worth of upgrades to the hospital from 2002 to 2013 and added another $27 million recently, for items such as inpatient room renovations and heating and cooling system upgrades.
Wat said the Milan Ilich Pavilion atrium resembles that of a hotel and “maternity care rooms are like hotel rooms.”
Meixner took back the podium after several photos and reiterated her foundation’s concerns about the existing tower.
The foundation’s vice-chair, Lily Korstanje, a real estate marketer, also voiced concerns about the tower.
“It is seismically unstable, it is obsolete and it is incapable of handling our urgent requirements,” said Korstanje, who also pointed out “most of the medical equipment and resources are donor-funded.”
The event recognized Bob de Boer, the first person born in the hospital, on March 7, 1966.
Also at the event was Kerry Paterson, one of the daughter’s of Dr. Richard Talmey, who helped galvanize support for the construction of the hospital in the late 1950s.
“His legacy is the contributions to the community. He moved into this community long before anything was here,” said Paterson, noting her father, along with Dr. John Varley and Dr. Doug Clement, performed minor surgeries from their office, prior to the hospital being built.
While the hospital was deemed one of the best in Canada when it opened, the foundation notes no other hospital in B.C. has fewer acute care beds per capita. Meixner is concerned about Richmond’s growing seniors population, which will add even more demand to the overcrowded tower.
The foundation has stated it is willing to raise $40 million for a new tower that would cost about $283 million.
