Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/126200
coverstory BOLD By Helena Br yan//Phot og r aphy by Paul Jo s eph new vısion Peace Arch Hospital is on the cusp of embarking on a redevelopment plan that will see it expand to meet the health-care needs of its growing community. N ow is an incredibly exciting time to be living in White Rock/South Surrey. With the sea at its front door and fields and forests at its back, White Rock/South Surrey has become one of B.C.'s most dynamic and desirable places to live, attracting increasing numbers of young families and active seniors. Today, it's also home to one of the Fraser Health region's most exciting plans – the visionary redevelopment and expansion of Peace Arch Hospital. "We're not talking about a piecemeal undertaking where you add a new building here and another one there," says Marco Buccini, executive director; Facilities, Planning and Real Estate for Fraser Health, and executive lead on the proposed redevelopment of Peace Arch Hospital. "After extensive consultation with external and internal stakeholders, including hospital staff and physicians, we've planned holistically to develop an overall vision [the High 6 Level Master Concept Plan for Peace Arch Hospital]; one that's based on the current and future needs of the community with evidence of what's needed in terms of clinical care." The need is now Buccini's enthusiasm for the redevelopment of Peace Arch Hospital is significantly rooted in both the current and projected healthcare needs of White Rock/South Surrey's fast-growing community, which comprises a lively mix of people from both ends of the age spectrum: active seniors and young families with children. These are the faces of a community that has increased in population by 55 per cent in the past 20 years and is expected to grow another 15 per cent by 2020. Home to the largest senior population in the Fraser Health region, the area is also attracting increasing numbers of young families, which means the percentage of children and teens is on the rise. While a growing population revitalizes a community, it also inevitably puts additional pressure on existing resources, and nowhere is this more evident than in Peace Arch Hospital's Emergency Department (ED), where staff attend to between 100 and 125 patients each day, many with complex and acute needs. Eighteen to 20 per cent of these patients are seniors and 15 to 17 per cent are children. Here, doctors and nurses treat nearly 50,000 patients a year in a facility originally built to accommodate 20,000. health + care spr i ng /sum m er 2013 p06-9 Cvr Stry-Dr Murray Q&A.indd 6 13-04-12 2:09 PM