St. Paul's hospital senior staff's letter to Premier 
Providence Health Care -
Medical Staff Association
c/o Medical Affairs Office
St. Paul's Hospital
Room B541 - 1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1 Y6
January 30, 2009
Hon. Gordon Campbell
Premier, Province of British Columbia
Room 156
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC
V8V 1 X4
Dear Premier Campbell:
St. Paul's Hospital's medical staff, who provide world-class care to thousands of British Columbians every year, need your leadership and vision at a critical time in our renowned institution's history.
We have received messages from our peers in the Lower Mainland health authorities that these organizations and the Ministry of Health are contemplating options and developing plans that would, in our opinion, critically damage St. Paul's Hospital's key provincial programs and the hospital's international reputation as a centre of research, teaching and care excellence.
Premier Campbell, we the caregivers, researchers, teachers and physicians at St. Paul's are united
in our urgency and determination to ensure St. Paul's Hospital is not dismantled.
We are ready to make our case that, in fact, St. Paul's - as a provincial resource which hosts key
tertiary/quaternary programs - can best serve the needs of all British Columbians through
strengthening the hospital's programs, not by cutting them out and distributing them to other
hospitals or health authorities.
It has taken generations of dedicated breakthrough work by the hospital's founding nuns, committed care workers, and medical scientists to build the international reputation and unique culture of compassionate care and innovation that St. Paul's now enjoys. This hospital looks after some of the most vulnerable populations in British Columbia. Our programs and expertise are extremely integrated to ensure we can meet the increasingly complex needs of our patients. .../2
We know there is extensive planning underway within the Ministry of Health to develop strategic plans to address BC's growing long-term health care needs. We support the need for such planning. However, any process that begins with contemplating a downgrading of St. Paul's is inherently flawed and naive. We believe the beginning point should be how to add to St. Paul's current levels of expertise and human potential, not subtract from it.
For this reason, we need your immediate commitment and support, ensuring your government's vision for St. Paul's Hospital is one of revitalization and renewal.
Specifically, we urgently request the following:
1. Assurance that St. Paul's Hospital will not be dismantled and its key provincial tertiary/quaternary programs (such as the Cardio-pulmonary and Renal programs) will not be moved to other organizations in whole or in part.
2. Commitment that St. Paul's Hospital will continue to be an Academic Health Sciences Centre, maintaining its UBC-affiliated research and teaching components in the heart of Vancouver.
3. Provincial government support for Providence Health Care's current plan for a "bridging strategy." (This strategy contemplates the construction of a new building, within the next three years, adjoining to St. Paul's Hospital to meet short- and medium-term space needs for the hospital.)
4. Commitment that the provincial government will begin the process for St. Paul's Hospital's long-term renewal and redevelopment within four years.
Premier Campbell, for the sake of our patients from all over British Columbia, we need a strong signal from you that you and your government value this hospital and its unique culture and history. Your vision for health care is one of innovation, new solutions, new models of care, better use of taxpayer resources, and better health outcomes. Our position is that Providence Health Care and St. Paul's Hospital have demonstrated nationally recognized excellence in these areas and further investment and commitment to St. Paul's and its care providers can only serve to help meet your priorities and the needs of British Columbians. .../3
Our commitment is to collaborate effectively with our health partners, our academic partners, and our government, community and provincial partners. We call on you to join us in our support for St. Paul's Hospital.
We look forward to your timely response and commitment. Sincerely, Medical Staff Executive, On behalf of the Medical Staff Dr. Dara Behroozi, President Dr. Brian Westerberg, Vice-President Dr. Jim Kennedy, Past President Dr. Matt Klas, Trasurer Dr. Susan More, Member at Large
