New Westminster, B.C. – {September 16, 2014} – The legacy of a Royal Columbian Hospital emergency physician will carry on, following a donation by friends of the doctor who passed away earlier this year.
Dr. Gilbert Dyck spent his career at Royal Columbian Hospital until he retired in 2010. He passed away at home on March 12, 2014, after a battle with multiple myeloma.
A gift to Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation from Steve and Karen McDonald will help purchase a chest compression system and a crash cart defibrillator for the hospital’s emergency department.
“This equipment will no doubt have a huge impact on the lives of many people in the future,” says Foundation Chair Doug Eveneshen. “It’s a fitting tribute to a doctor who was one of the first emergency medicine specialists, and we’re grateful to Steve and Karen McDonald for their thoughtful donation.”
Dr. Dyck joined Royal Columbian Hospital in the ‘70s at a time when the emergency department was developing full-time staff. He and his colleagues helped grow emergency medicine as a specialty, and Dr. Dyck became one of the original emergency medicine specialists.
Today, Royal Columbian Hospital’s emergency department is among the busiest in the province, with close to 68-thousand visits a year, offering care to a wide range of patients from all over the region and beyond.
Family, friends, and colleagues gathered at Royal Columbian Hospital Monday evening to remember Dr. Dyck and unveil a plaque to recognize the physician and the donation made in his memory.
“Gil was a longtime friend and I was proud of his accomplishments,” says Steve McDonald. “It’s an honour to have an opportunity to make this gift and celebrate his contributions to health care.”
“On behalf of my family, I would like to thank Steve and Karen so much for honouring Gil by donating to the Emergency department at Royal Columbian,” says Dr. Dyck’s widow, Marion Dyck. “It is wonderful that the hospital that meant so much to him is being supported in this way.”
Centre of excellence
Royal Columbian Hospital is a Fraser Health referral centre that provides the highest level of care to seriously ill and injured patients from across the province, including trauma, cardiac services, neurosciences, high risk maternity and neonatal intensive care. Royal Columbian Hospital is also a UBC teaching hospital with a Clinical Academic Campus.
Raising Funds
Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation is an independent charitable foundation that raises millions of dollars annually to help fund priority equipment needs, facility enhancements, research, education and innovation at Royal Columbian Hospital. For more information about Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation, visit www.rchfoundation.com or contact us at 604 520 4438.