Saint Mary’s Hospital is still taking care of us — 20 years after closing its doors on Royal Avenue.
The Saint Mary’s Health Foundation recently held its grants recipients awards reception, where it handed out almost $170,000 in grants. The event, held at Old Bavaria Haus restaurant, was its first since 2019 because of Covid.
Each fall, the foundation provides financial support to health-care organizations, focusing on projects and initiatives that are innovative and compatible with the principles of compassionate care exemplified at Saint Mary’s Hospital.
Following the closure of Saint Mary’s Hospital in 2004, the Saint Mary’s Hospital Foundation opted to continue on as the Saint Mary’s Health Foundation. It strives to continue the work of the former hospital foundation by helping health-care providers and supporting patient care by providing funds to hospital and health providers in and around New Westminster.
"It has continued to fund projects locally and around B.C. for years," said Rob Stewart, chair of the foundation’s board.
"It generates a lot of goodwill and innovation in health care."
This year’s recipients included:
- Kiwanis Care Centre (specialty mattresses)
- St. Michael’s Centre Hospital Society (ceiling lifts)
- Victoria Brain Injury Society (coping strategy program costs for those with brain injuries)
- Nesting Place Society (grief recovery and helping children with loss)
- L’Arche of Greater Vancouver
- Fraser Orthopedic Research Society (the Dr. David Harder Lectureship series)
- RCH Foundation (mattresses, warming cabinet and portable ECG)
- Normanna Foundation (floor lifts)
- Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation (wheelchairs)
- Burnaby Hospital Foundation (arjo sara combilizer)
- St. Paul’s Foundation of Vancouver (disinfecting equipment)
- Volunteer Cancer Drivers
The foundation also provided financial support for further education of nursing or technical staff already employed in health care so they can upgrade and enhance their skills, thus encouraging these individuals to remain in health care as a long-term career. These funds, which are in memory of Florence L. Cotton, totalled $35,600 and went to nine individuals.
"The Saint Mary’s Hospital Foundation collected money cover the years, mainly from people donating,” Stewart explained. “In the past, when people were born there they felt a real desire to give back to the hospital and would often leave gifts in their will.”
For more information or to donate to the foundation, you can visit the foundation's website.
In July 2002, the Fraser Health Authority announced it is launching a process to sever an affiliation agreement with Saint Mary’s Hospital, an agreement that provides the hospital with 93 per cent of its funding.
Despite campaigns from community members and the City of New Westminster to keep the hospital open, it eventually closed in 2004.
Today, the Saint Mary’s Hospital site is homes to Qayqayt Elementary School and St. Mary’s Park.
