B.C. Women's Hospital & Health Centre

BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre is a hospital located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. BC Women’s occupies a unique and strategic position in Canada as the largest maternity hospital, a key leader in innovative specialized women’s health programs, and a national presence in the articulation of the women’s health research agenda.

As a teaching hospital and major provincial health care resource, research is a core component of all clinical activities at BC Women’s. All current treatments are based on research and research is at the forefront of all new medical approaches.

BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre is the only facility in Western Canada dedicated to the health of women, newborns and families providing service, treatment, education, research and health promotion for women and their families. BC Women’s employs more than 1,000 full and part-time staff.

Specializations and services
As a hospital, BC Women’s is known for excellence in fetal, maternal, newborn and family health services. As the largest obstetrical hospital in Canada and B.C.’s only tertiary maternity care hospital, its specialists and staff:
 * deliver approximately 7,000 babies per year
 * provide essential high risk maternity care
 * operate with 85 antepartum/postpartum beds, including 29 high risk beds, plus 9 delivery suites and 10 neonatal care nursery beds
 * support low-risk mothers and families in 7 new single room maternity care rooms
 * provide care for more than 42,500 in-patients visits each year

As a Health Centre, BC Women’s provides care and treatment to over 19,000 outpatients each year through specialized women’s health services including:
 * Maternity Care Diagnostic Program
 * The Oak Tree Clinic: Women & Children with HIV/AIDS
 * Osteoporosis Program
 * Breast Health Program
 * Reproductive Health & Psychiatry
 * Aurora Centre &mdash; A 27 bed residential addiction treatment & rehab program
 * Aboriginal Health Program
 * Sexual Assault Program
 * Continence Program
 * Family Health
 * Midwifery Program

Recent hallmarks
On October 25, 2006, Felicia Simms delivered conjoined twins at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre. They're believed to be the first ever conjoined twins born in British Columbia.

Canada's first set of sextuplets, four boys and two girls, were born at the hospital on January 6 and 7, 2007. They were in the 25th week of gestation when born, or approximately 3 months premature.

History
Formerly Grace Maternity Hospital, BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre has been caring for BC families since 1927. It provides a broad range of specialized health services that address the health needs of women of all ages and backgrounds. Women’s is the largest maternity hospital in Canada with over 7,600 babies delivered every year. Women’s provides a combination of acute care services such as HIV/AIDS care and treatment, abortion and sexual assault services for women throughout the province (through outreach and on-site services in Vancouver) and basic health care services such as breast health checks for women in the Lower Mainland. It also provides training for providers across the province.

BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre was founded in 1994 when Grace merged with the Women’s Health Centre of the former Shaughnessy Hospital. Under the Provincial Health Services Authority, BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre has a provincial mandate to serve women, babies and their families across B.C. Only 43 percent of patients reside in the Lower Mainland, while 57 per cent of patients live in other areas of B.C. With many specialized women’s health services not available anywhere else in the province, BC Women’s treats over 68,000 patients each year.

The Foundation
BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre Foundation supports the significant capital equipment, diagnostic, patient care, research and education needs of the hospital and health centre through fund-raising, planned giving and corporate partnerships.