New Westminster, B.C. – {February 9, 2026} Through an ongoing funding program by Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation, charitable donors are once again helping advance patient care. This latest round of approvals provides nearly $1.1 million in new medical equipment, technology, and clinical programs, supporting some of Royal Columbian Hospital’s most critical and complex areas of care. These latest investments are helping bring new tools, training, and treatment options into care environments. Funding decisions are guided by clinical priorities and reflect emerging needs across the hospital. Together, these investments underscore Royal Columbian Hospital’s role as a high-volume tertiary referral centre, caring for patients with complex and high-acuity needs from across the region and beyond.
Expanding treatment options for patients with resistant hypertension
High blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. While many patients manage it with medication and lifestyle changes, some continue to experience dangerously high blood pressure. Donor funding will allow Royal Columbian Hospital to launch a renal denervation therapy program, delivered by Interventional Radiology in collaboration with Internal Medicine specialists. The minimally invasive procedure targets overactive nerves near the kidneys that contribute to persistent hypertension. This will be the first renal denervation program within Fraser Health, expanding access to an emerging treatment for patients whose hypertension remains difficult to control.
Strengthening cardiovascular and interventional care
Royal Columbian Hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory provides advanced heart procedures for patients across Fraser Health. Donor funding is supporting enhanced imaging tools that allow cardiologists to see blood vessels and heart structures in greater detail during procedures. These technologies support real-time imaging during complex interventions, helping teams make precise decisions while care is underway. Additional funding for mobile lead shields protects staff working close to X-ray equipment, supporting safe care in high-acuity environments. Together, these investments reinforce Royal Columbian Hospital’s role as a regional centre for advanced, high-volume cardiac care.
Improving safety and efficiency in cardiac diagnostics
Donors have funded a transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) transducer reprocessor, supporting advanced cardiac imaging at Royal Columbian Hospital. The new system automates the high-level disinfection of specialized ultrasound probes used during heart procedures. Moving from manual to automated processing improves consistency, strengthens documentation and traceability, and introduces efficiencies for Medical Device Reprocessing teams. This technology, first of its kind within Fraser Health, helps ensure timely, safe access to detailed heart imaging for patients requiring complex cardiac assessment at one of the region’s busiest cardiac centres.
Protecting the smallest and most vulnerable patients
Royal Columbian Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is one of four tertiary-level NICUs in British Columbia, caring for about 450 infants each year, including extremely premature babies. While human milk is already standard care, the smallest and most fragile newborns require additional nutrients to support growth and development. Currently, this is done using fortifiers derived from cow’s milk. Donor funding is supporting a transition to a fully human milk–based fortifier, allowing these infants to receive nutrition made entirely from human milk. Studies show this approach can significantly reduce serious complications, helping vulnerable babies stay healthier, recover more quickly, and go home sooner.
Funding has also supported a second targeted temperature management system, ensuring timely treatment for newborns with brain injury and reducing the need for transfers to other hospitals. Advancing high-risk obstetrical and newborn care through simulation. Royal Columbian Hospital is a referral centre for high-risk obstetrical and neonatal care within Fraser Health. As the complexity of these cases increases, donor funding has supported the purchase of a high-fidelity birthing simulator.
The simulator allows care teams to train together in a realistic setting, improving communication, coordination, and decision-making during complex obstetrical and newborn situations. It supports education for obstetricians, maternity nurses, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, respiratory therapists, and midwives. By expanding simulation-based training, Royal Columbian Hospital strengthens preparedness for high-stakes events before they occur in real patient care.
About Royal Columbian Hospital
As BC’s most comprehensive critical care hospital, one in three British Columbians rely on Royal Columbian Hospital. We are the only hospital in BC with trauma, cardiac, neurosciences, high-risk obstetrics and neonatal intensive care on one site. We look after some of the most seriously ill and injured patients, and we do it with the support of donors like you.
Since 1978, donors to Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation have helped fund priority equipment needs, facility enhancements, research, education and innovation at Royal Columbian Hospital. Visit rchfoundation.com for more information.
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For more information, please contact: Jason Howe Vice President, Marketing and Communications
C: 236.332.0798 Jason.Howe@fraserhealth.ca