[6o4__boi]

St Paul's Hospital to close, new facility built - British Columbia - CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/st-paul-s-hospital-to-close-new-facility-built-1.3030369)

I'm not sure how i feel about this. It does make sense to a certain extent because I figured slowly upgrading it would be costly and would be a pain in the ass. Interesting to see how this will unfold over the next little while and how it'll change the dynamics of health care in the downtown core and where its relocating to.

[melloman]

Best part about this whole thing is; their main corridor to downtown is the viaducts..

The one thing mayor moonbeam is trying so hard to demolish, leaving this hospital with drastically longer response times.

[murd0c]

The site is big time haunted, my sister is a nurse at St Pauls and there's certain area's she will not go at night at all.

I think its sad especially since its over 100 years old but in the long run I think its better off building a new hospital rather then dealing with so many unknown's with fixing St Pauls.

[604STIG]

They'll be able to pay for most of the new facility with the property sale of the existing location i'm sure. But taxes will still go up to pay for it, gotta line somebodies pockets with the revenues I guess.

[6o4__boi]

The price tag of the new facility is estimated at $1.2 Billion
:heckno:

I can't rmbr how much the original quote was when they said they'd do renos.
Wouldn't be surprised if it was haunted...it's gotta have some history. Heck, it'd be safe to assume all hospitals are haunted. I've always been uneasy in hospitals.

[Habboy]

I was born there!! I know times have changed, but, a little sad its gonna be gone

[westopher]

St. Pauls is so run down I don't see any other options. There is no way that they can renovate and rebuild St. Pauls, while maintaining necessary capacity. I think this is a good choice, although as said the fact there are no hospitals DT is concerning.

[IMASA]

I worked at SPH for 6 years and we've heard about this for a long time. Now it's finally official. I think they recently spent 10-20 million on renovating the Emergency dept.

[capt_slo]

They'll be able to pay for most of the new facility with the property sale of the existing location i'm sure. But taxes will still go up to pay for it, gotta line somebodies pockets with the revenues I guess.

Apparently they're expecting something in the range of $480M from the old property sale.

The current building requires $850M in work for seismic upgrades and major electrical & mechanical system overhauls/modernizations. The Gov. said they'd pay $500 million but the hospital has had a lot of trouble raising their $350M portion.

[Hondaracer]

I was born der, and homie I'll die der

[Traum]

For better or for worse, I have been to St. Paul many, many times, and news of the relocation is giving me a lot of mixed feelings.

I completely understand the need for the relocation, but I can't tell what kind of impact it will create for the DT core. In some ways, I see a lot of benefits in having a hospital right there in the heart of DT, esp when our DT is as residential as it is.

[westopher]

I was born der, and homie I'll die der
Planning on living only 7 more years?

[carisear]

I've been wondering if this would ever happen. I remember hearing about it like 10 years ago, and thinking AWESOME. St. Pauls is a dump, and should be torn down. Where would you rather get treated if you were sick -- a 100 year old building that has been patched up over the years, or a new state of the art place?

I didn't think it would ever happen, with all of the activists, protestors, heritage housing, west end associations ... etc etc etc ... saying that it should stay.

[quasi]

They have spent quite a bit on Hospitals in the last little bit not that they didn't them. I wonder when this is coming out for tender, I heart bidding Hospitals.

[underscore]

St. Pauls is so run down I don't see any other options. There is no way that they can renovate and rebuild St. Pauls, while maintaining necessary capacity. I think this is a good choice, although as said the fact there are no hospitals DT is concerning.

They've been doing a lot of work to KGH the last while and from the few times I've been in there during the work it seemed to cause a lot of headache for anyone working or visiting the hospital in the affected areas. A completely new building will be loads better overall IMO.

[GLOW]

Best part about this whole thing is; their main corridor to downtown is the viaducts..

The one thing mayor moonbeam is trying so hard to demolish, leaving this hospital with drastically longer response times.

it's ok. they'll create ambulance bikes to use bike lanes.
http://cdn.instructables.com/FDY/V7IF/G0AMH2WX/FDYV7IFG0AMH2WX.LARGE.jpg
http://www.rivonline.org/Bike%20Trailer.JPG

[Traum]

I completely understand the need for the relocation, but I can't tell what kind of impact it will create for the DT core. In some ways, I see a lot of benefits in having a hospital right there in the heart of DT, esp when our DT is as residential as it is.
Actually, now that I think about it, it strikes me as odd that the provincial government is proposing a move for St Paul. Why does it have to be a move? Why can't the new hospital be constructed at the proposed site at False Creek and have the heavy duty, new resource intensive care transferred over to False Creek, while the current St. Paul continues with simple upkeep and remain open to look after the easier stuff? This way, residents of the DT core can continue to receive medical care. Having a new hospital should not be associated with demolishing St. Paul.

At the end of the day, it seems to me that if the provincial government is willing to fund this, it will happen.

[6o4__boi]

it's ok. they'll create ambulance bikes to use bike lanes.
http://cdn.instructables.com/FDY/V7IF/G0AMH2WX/FDYV7IFG0AMH2WX.LARGE.jpg
http://www.rivonline.org/Bike%20Trailer.JPG

http://www.boredinvancouver.com/wp-content/uploads/gregor2.jpg

[spoon.ek9]

I worked at St Paul's for almost 5 years. Logistically, this is not a good move. Response times will suffer, translating to worse treatment than before (depending on the situation of course). Sure, the place is super old but it was functional none the less and the staff from top to bottom have done the best they can given the circumstances.

Also, keep in mind there are tons of hospitals that are more "ghetto" than this. Funding is always an issue and even when the money shows up, it doesn't mean they are spending it where it SHOULD be spent. Politics plays a big part in this even though it shouldn't.

At the end of the day, if the hospital saves your life or that of someone you care about, do you really care how the place physically looks? I know what my answer is.

[westopher]

My wife works at St. Pauls and I assure it has nothing to do with LOOKING ghetto. The place is a shithole, which will crumble like ned flanders' bomb shelter at the slightest seismic activity. Its not going to last, and their hands I'm sure are somewhat tied. However I agree that as stated before, the by far ideal situation would be to spend half the money on building a new hospital, and also refurbish St. Pauls to modern code when that can start taking patients. We can't afford to maintain the status quo when it comes to medical care in Vancouver. They are spouting off about how badly we need more busses with our growing population, but not much mention about how people can wait 5+ hours in a waiting room for serious issues.

[spoon.ek9]

I think everyone agrees that seismic stability of the building is nowhere near current standards. I too agree that they should spend some of this money on restructuring the building for continued service.

[The_AK]

The site is big time haunted, my sister is a nurse at St Pauls and there's certain area's she will not go at night at all.

I think its sad especially since its over 100 years old but in the long run I think its better off building a new hospital rather then dealing with so many unknown's with fixing St Pauls.

Go on. I'm interested.

[Traum]

My wife works at St. Pauls and I assure it has nothing to do with LOOKING ghetto. The place is a shithole, which will crumble like ned flanders' bomb shelter at the slightest seismic activity.
Right, I forgot about the need for seismic upgrades. This was cited to be the reason why building new is cheaper than retrofitting, and I'd have to agree. But it doesn't change the fact that those in the DT core will be more poorly served as a result of the St. Paul relocation.

Given the various wait times for different medical procedures in Greater Vancouver, I have little doubt that our population could fully utilize both a hospital at the current St. Paul location, and a new one at the proposed False Creek site. IMO, all it needs is the political willingness for the provincial government to support it and go through with it.

[6o4__boi]

they're banking on most of downtown being ghost condos/investment condos in the future
:troll:


yeah that'd be a pretty good idea to utilize both locations. Too bad political willingness will be pretty hard to muster.

[twitchyzero]

srs question...are there physical dividers inside the Viaduct bike lanes or can emerg vehicles squeeze into them? It's been months since I drove DT so I can't recall.
Not sure if feasible but they should retain a satellite emerg department within the DT core when this new one goes up.

[Gnomes]

St Paul is supposed to be heritage building. Is the city/church/hospital able to sell the building + land to developers?

[gars]

an older article mentioned that 55% of the patients at St Paul's were from outside Downtown - it makes sense to have a location that's more central, has more parking, and also is easier to get to via public transit.

As well, the majority of the patients that use the ER at St pauls were from the DTES.

[twitchyzero]

better pray Canucks don't make the Stanley cup finals when the current one closes and DT locks down

[Traum]

an older article mentioned that 55% of the patients at St Paul's were from outside Downtown - it makes sense to have a location that's more central, has more parking, and also is easier to get to via public transit.

As well, the majority of the patients that use the ER at St pauls were from the DTES.
While 55% is more than 1/2, it isn't really an overwhelming majority though. Another thing is the overall capacity. Speaking from experience, I would say that our urgent (medical) care in BC is still top notch. But as soon as you move into a non (immediately) life threatening situation, be prepared to wait -- it is going to take a while. Our healthcare system's capacity to process those non (immediately) life threatening cases could really use a lot of improvement. Having an extra hospital in the region could go a long way in relieving that.

[Klondike]

Was born there. Sad to see it go

[gars]

While 55% is more than 1/2, it isn't really an overwhelming majority though. Another thing is the overall capacity. Speaking from experience, I would say that our urgent (medical) care in BC is still top notch. But as soon as you move into a non (immediately) life threatening situation, be prepared to wait -- it is going to take a while. Our healthcare system's capacity to process those non (immediately) life threatening cases could really use a lot of improvement. Having an extra hospital in the region could go a long way in relieving that.

I was trying to source where I read the 55%, but the vancitybuzz (yay!) article said that Providence Data says that 40% of the patients from St Paul's are from outside Vancouver, not downtown.

Some people are saying that Mt St Joseph will likely close down as well.

[Traum]

I was trying to source where I read the 55%, but the vancitybuzz (yay!) article said that Providence Data says that 40% of the patients from St Paul's are from outside Vancouver, not downtown.

Some people are saying that Mt St Joseph will likely close down as well.
If the non-DT patients only make up for 40% of St. Paul's patient base, then having St. Paul move out of DT will be a major inconvenience for the DT residents as I was suspecting.

I have dealt with both St. Paul and MSJ on numerous occassions -- both are run by Providence and they share the same patient database. Despite its small size and their more limted range of services, I have always been very impressed by how good their quality of care has been. It'll be sad of either MSJ or St. Paul comes out losing as a result of this upheaval.

[CharlesInCharge]

Location is everything... specially for a hospital. With a city this congested, False Creek is too far.

If lives really mattered to this government it would build a new earth quake resistant hospital in the same place... but such a property and the milking of its property tax is greater then what people deserve.

[twitchyzero]

think I just...thanked CiC's post?

[Chronix]

Currently work at SPH. They are still upgrading the elevators right now. So it doesn't really make sense to move. But the Burrard building is not earthquake proof so it's a safety issue for sure.

False Creek is too far from the Downtown core as well and if they do remove the viaduct, it will be a problem for sure.

As for haunted stories, read this from an ex security guard who worked there.

[Experience] The haunting of St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada. : Paranormal (http://www.reddit.com/r/Paranormal/comments/1mb1n6/experience_the_haunting_of_st_pauls_hospital/)

[GS8]

I know SPH isn't entirely earthquake proof but could it not be converted into a....you know....

Mental health facility?

[Devastator]

Transform it into the Arkam Asylum. Vancouver's own version, it being an old heritage building is a nice start.

[Chronix]

I know SPH isn't entirely earthquake proof but could it not be converted into a....you know....

Mental health facility?

Yea and it will eventually close down just like how Riverview did. No budget.

SPH right now has pretty good mental health facilities. 4 to 5 inpatient psych and ER psych. And the normal ER beds sometimes all get filled up with psych patients too. It's pretty overwhelming for ER staff. I hope they expand it at the new false creek location or else VGH will get overwhelmed.

[4444]

Location is everything... specially for a hospital. With a city this congested, False Creek is too far.

If lives really mattered to this government it would build a new earth quake resistant hospital in the same place... but such a property and the milking of its property tax is greater then what people deserve.

coherent, intelligible, not a cracker rant.... CiC, what happened to you?

[CharlesInCharge]

Just being myself as always... maybe its you guys that have changed :p

[GLOW]

coherent, intelligible, not a cracker rant.... CiC, what happened to you?

last week I see a post that didn't contain zionist cats...now this...

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/ht_end_of_world_meme_futurama_ss_thg-121220_ssh.jpg

[Everymans]

The new site actually makes a lot of sense when it comes to the future of the city. do you really imagine that st.pauls can continue to expand with it's current location in the future? There's heritage houses and skyscrapers on all corners of its location. The new location is HUGE, nearly a kilometer long for pete sakes. It's close to a major, recently renovated skytrain station, the train/bus station, and a number of bus stops. According to cbc the majority of st.pauls use has been from out of towners so the close proximity to a skytrain and the bus station does seem like a better motive. And not to mention the overall growth of the city and what potential this new location could have. VGH is surrounded by skyscrapers, expensive real estate and heritage houses as well so we could potentially see the future of most of vancouvers health care at the future location. not to mention it's close to the lower east side, an area with a high demand for emergency service and citizens with medical needs. The people of the west end can suck up the 10-15 minute transit time to get to the hospital. You don't hear the other half of the city complaining when it comes glaringly apparent that all the major hospitals in the city are located within 10 blocks of downtown vancouver.

[Tapioca]

^ Many people who live in the West End are retired/semi-employed and have A LOT of time on their hands to complain about anything and everything. This move makes sense, but the City of Vancouver probably has a lot to lose since they were probably counting on taxation from the destruction of the viaducts.