The Surrey Hospitals Foundation (SHF) is officially Surrey's designated health-care foundation.
The Government of B.C. and Fraser Health recognized SHF at an announcement made at KPU July 3—across the street from the new Cloverdale hospital construction site.
“This formal recognition reflects the important role Surrey Hospitals Foundation has played—and will continue to play—in supporting high-quality, accessible health care for people in Surrey,” said Josie Osborne, minister of health. “Together, we are investing in a stronger health-care system that meets the needs of this diverse and growing community.”
The designation now means SHF will spearhead fundraising efforts for a series of health care projects in the city.
Osborne said SHF has raised more than $10 million in the past year alone for critical programs and vital equipment.
“This includes things like investments toward the establishment of a robotics program at the Surrey Memorial Hospital for complex head and neck and chest injuries.”
She noted over the past year the Foundation raised $5.2 million for the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre, $1.7 million for video technology and equipment for an integrated operating room system, and a few million dollars for other initiatives.
“These investments are helping us strengthen health care in Surrey and finding the best solutions for the residents here, south of the Fraser,” she added. “The work that the Surrey Hospitals Foundation id doing here is another example of the strength of this community and your commitment and dedication to health care excellence.”
Osborne said along with the new Cloverdale hospital, this will include a new acute care tower at SMH, a new medical school that will open in Whalley, and other initiatives that are needed in Surrey.
She said the medical school is the first new one in B.C. in 55 years.
“The City of Surrey is actually undertaking a development and it’ll become a permanent part of that development,” she added. “So they’ll have a temporary location for a few years first and then it will move into a permanent location. The first intake will be in September, 2026.”
Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko was on hand for the announcement. She said she was both grateful for and proud of the work SHF does on behalf of B.C.ers.
“It’s great to know that their generosity and the generosity of donors will be put to good use in our new hospital here in Cloverdale,” she said.
Sturko added she was not expecting the Government’s message at KPU to be about the partnership.
“I’m a little bit surprised that this announcement—of a new partnership—wasn’t actually a new service being offered by the Government,” she explained. “It’s disappointing knowing the urgent needs that we have here in Surrey.”
She said with the hospital being a billion dollars over budget and years behind schedule, she expected more.
“An announcement that just reaffirms that we are so heavily reliant upon the generosity of donors to even provide the basic health care in British Columbia, is actually kind of sad.”
Sturko added she’s interested to hear plans for making hospitals safer for workers, citing it as a “huge concern” for her party.
According to the Surrey Hospitals Foundation, they are the “largest non-government funder of health care in Surrey, having contributed more than $210 million over the past 32 years.”
