Hospital On The Move: The Extraordinary Work Behind Opening the Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower
Behind the scenes at Royal Columbian Hospital, an extraordinary effort has been unfolding. As the Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower edges toward its 2026 opening, teams across the hospital are deep into one of the most complex transitions in Royal Columbian’s history. Equipment is being installed and tested, workflows are being redesigned, and hundreds of staff are preparing to move people, programs, and technology into an entirely new centrepiece for acute and critical care in British Columbia.
Preparing for the Unimaginable: Inside a Code Orange at Royal Columbian Hospital
At Royal Columbian Hospital, a dedicated group of physicians, nurses and operational leaders spend countless hours preparing for something that feels almost unthinkable: a sudden mass-casualty situation where a large number of patients arrive at once. These teams plan, rehearse and refine processes to ensure the hospital can continue to provide exceptional care even under the most challenging circumstances. A major earthquake, for example, could send many injured people to hospital within a very short period of time.
Margaret Swanson
A visit to the gym in Coquitlam was part of Margaret Swanson’s active lifestyle, until a sudden shift in her vision one day in August 2025 signalled something was wrong. What began as a familiar workout quickly turned life-threatening when everything in front of her appeared “sparkly” and she collapsed. At 69 years old, Margaret was experiencing a major stroke. “I remember looking at my phone and everything just did not look right,” Margaret recalls. “The next thing I knew, I was on the floor. I could not speak, and I could not move properly. I was confused more than anything.”
Wubs Family Foundation Funds Life-Saving ECMO Device for Royal Columbian Hospital
Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation is grateful to share that the Wubs Family Foundation has made a generous gift to strengthen […]
Southern Railway Helps Advance Care at Royal Columbian Through Safe Work and Generous Support
We are deeply grateful to Southern Railway of British Columbia (SRY) for their remarkable and long-standing commitment to Royal Columbian […]
Wesley Phillips
As Lauren Phillips woke up 25-weeks into her pregnancy, she couldn’t ignore the feeling that something was off that morning. Listening to her intuition, the 31-year-old Port Moody resident and her husband made their way to Royal Columbian Hospital to make sure everything was okay. Little did they know, it would mark the beginning of a four-month stay involving an emergency c-section and an extended stretch in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) following Wesley’s birth.
Russ Moore
Russ Moore started to notice a slight shortness of breath that would come and go. The moments were so fleeting that he initially shrugged them off. But when the sensation returned one morning in late July 2025, while he was alone at his mother’s home in North Delta, he reached for his phone. His next memory is of waking up in a daze and bleeding from his head. Mustering the strength to call 911, Russ would soon find himself in Royal Columbian Hospital’s Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU), critically ill and connected to a piece of medical equipment often considered a final attempt to save a life
Anesthesia Meets Space
Over three days in September 2025, Royal Columbian Hospital anesthesiologist Dr. Matthew Turnock fulfilled a childhood dream while helping to advance medical knowledge when he experienced weightlessness. Supported by the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, and an innovation grant established by Royal Columbian’s anesthesiologists through the Foundation, Dr. Turnock travelled to France with team members Dr. Alex Suen, Dr. Siobhan Wagner, and Adrian Tabari to conduct experiments aboard the Airbus A310 Zero G. His research explored how anesthetic drugs behave in microgravity, a question that could have implications for future space missions and medical care beyond Earth.
Royal Columbian anesthesiologists celebrated for care and generosity
New Westminster, B.C. — {October 16, 2025) — On World Anesthesia Day, Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation is proud to […]
TD helps celebrate Royal Columbian Hospital staff through Cheers to You
New Westminster, B.C. – A big thank you to TD Bank Group for generously sponsoring our September Cheers to You […]