Every day, hundreds of patients turn to Royal Columbian Hospital for answers.
Every day, hundreds of patients turn to Royal Columbian Hospital for answers. Some are living with heart disease. Others are facing neurological disorders, suspected cancer, or other complex conditions that require specialized investigation. For patients and families, uncertainty can be overwhelming. For caregivers, every decision begins with understanding exactly what they're treating.
Behind every diagnosis, procedure and treatment plan is a network of highly specialized programs working together to provide answers when patients need them most. Medical Imaging, Laboratory Medicine, Cardiac Diagnostics, Neurodiagnostics, and Nuclear Medicine play a critical role in nearly every patient journey, providing the information, expertise and clinical support that enable exceptional care.
As Royal Columbian Hospital enters its next era, these essential services must evolve to meet growing demand, support advancing technologies and keep pace with increasingly complex patient needs.
You have an opportunity to help strengthen the diagnostic and support services that form the foundation of modern healthcare.
The Backbone of Modern Patient Care
Behind every diagnosis, procedure and treatment plan is a network of highly specialized programs working together to provide answers when patients need them most. Medical Imaging, Laboratory Medicine, Cardiac Diagnostics, Neurodiagnostics, and Nuclear Medicine play a critical role in nearly every patient journey, providing the information, expertise and clinical support that enable exceptional care.
As Royal Columbian Hospital enters its next era, these essential services must evolve to meet growing demand, support advancing technologies and keep pace with increasingly complex patient needs.
Medical Imaging
Medical Imaging is one of the most essential services at Royal Columbian Hospital. Every day, it provides the information caregivers need to diagnose disease, guide treatment, monitor recovery, and plan complex procedures. From cancer and cardiac care to neurosciences, surgery, and inpatient medicine, medical imaging touches nearly every patient journey.
Redevelopment will create a modern, integrated Medical Imaging department designed to support the next generation of diagnostic care. Expanded capacity, improved workflow, and advanced imaging technology will help patients receive timely access to the specialized diagnostic services that underpin some of the hospital's most complex programs. Together, these investments will strengthen Royal Columbian Hospital's ability to meet growing demand while supporting exceptional care for decades to come.
Cardiac Diagnostics
Royal Columbian Hospital's Cardiac Diagnostic Services serve as a vital entry point to specialized heart care throughout the region. Supporting children, youth and adults, the program offers a comprehensive range of diagnostic services, including electrocardiography (ECG), echocardiography (Echo), stress testing, and Holter and event monitoring. It also provides follow-up care for patients with pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), and implantable loop recorders.
To support this growing demand, Cardiac Diagnostics will relocate to a newly redeveloped space in the hospital's former Emergency Department within the Health Care Centre building.
Designed specifically for cardiac diagnostics, the new department will bring together a broad range of services in a modern, integrated environment that supports better coordination of care, improved accessibility, and a more seamless patient experience. Multiple public access routes will make it easier for patients and families to navigate to the department, while a thoughtfully planned layout will support efficient movement throughout the space.
Neurodiagnostics
Royal Columbian Hospital's Neurodiagnostic Services support patients with some of the most complex conditions affecting the brain, nerves, and muscles. From investigating unexplained seizures to assessing nerve injuries and neuromuscular disorders, these tests help physicians understand how the nervous system is functioning and determine the most appropriate course of care.
As part of the next phase of redevelopment, Neurodiagnostic Services will move into a newly designed space located adjacent to Cardiac Diagnostics. The new department will support integrated workflows, strengthen collaboration among care teams, and improve the overall patient experience.
Designed specifically for neurological testing, the redeveloped department will create a modern environment that improves accessibility, supports efficient patient flow, and accommodates the growing demand for specialized diagnostic services.
Nuclear Medicine
While CT and MRI show what the body looks like, Nuclear Medicine reveals how it is functioning. Through specialized imaging and targeted radiopharmaceutical procedures, Nuclear Medicine provides diagnostic insights that cannot be achieved through conventional imaging alone. These services help caregivers diagnose and treat complex conditions affecting the heart, brain, and other organs, while supporting patients receiving care for cancer, infectious diseases, and a wide range of other illnesses.
As part of Royal Columbian Hospital’s Redevelopment, the Nuclear Medicine department will be rebuilt and expanded to support growing patient volumes, evolving technologies, and emerging treatment approaches. Located on Level 1 of the Health Care Centre, the redeveloped department will be designed to improve patient flow, enhance safety, and create a more efficient environment for both patients and caregivers.
Laboratory Medicine
Many of the answers that guide patient care cannot be seen on an X-ray, CT scan, or MRI. They are found in a blood sample, a tissue biopsy, a chromosome, or a microscopic cell. Laboratory Medicine helps uncover those answers, providing the critical information physicians need to diagnose disease, guide treatment decisions, monitor recovery, and improve patient outcomes.
As demand for healthcare continues to grow and diagnostic technologies become increasingly sophisticated, Royal Columbian Hospital's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology plays an ever-expanding role in modern medicine. The next phase of redevelopment and investment will help ensure the hospital remains equipped to deliver the advanced testing, specialized expertise, and innovative diagnostic capabilities needed to support exceptional patient care for years to come.
Beyond Diagnostics
Equipment and Technology
Here for What Care Needs Next
Responding to Royal Columbian Hospital’s greatest needs.
Through your philanthropy, you provide flexible funding that can be directed to the hospital’s most important emerging priorities. This support helps caregivers introduce promising technologies, develop new ideas, improve the patient experience, and strengthen the teams at the heart of care.
Workplace Wellness
Here for those who care
Investing in the people behind every patient story.
Behind every emergency surgery, every stroke intervention, every newborn's first breath, and every life-changing recovery is a dedicated team of nurses, physicians, allied health professionals, technicians, support staff, and learners. Their expertise, compassion, and commitment make extraordinary care possible for patients and families across British Columbia.
Research and Innovation
Here for the Next Breakthrough
Empowering caregivers shaping the future of care.
Research is where the future of care takes shape. At Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH), it begins with the people closest to patients: caregivers who see possibilities, ask important questions, and pursue better ways to diagnose, treat, and support those in their care.