September 13, 2007
Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation > Media Room > September 13, 2007

Developer helps Surrey Memorial Hospital’s ER keep up with growth

Surrey, B.C. – In a city that is among the fastest growing in Canada, a real estate development company has donated $100,000 towards the replacement to Surrey Memorial Hospital’s overcrowded E.R.

Qualico is a partner in Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation’s $15 million Emergency Centre Campaign. Qualico has agreed to sponsor one of the new Children’s ER Isolation Rooms, which will allow young patients with weakened immune systems and communicable illnesses to be treated in an area that is separated from the general pediatric and adult patient population.
 

Qualico is a fully integrated real estate development company with operations in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. In Vancouver, Qualico is more commonly known as Foxridge Homes. The company is one of the largest real estate development operations in Canada.
 

No other single B.C. municipality welcomed more new residents during the last five years than Surrey. With a population of about 400,000, Surrey has seen an average of 800 to 1,000 new residents each month in recent years.
 

Surrey Memorial Hospital’s current ER – the busiest in B.C. - was designed to handle about 44-thousand visits a year but has instead been seeing close to 70-thousand patients a year.
 

The new Emergency Centre, at triple the size of the current facility, will include a separate children’s ER, as well as a separate mental health and addictions area, an enhanced minor treatment unit, and an improved area for acute patients.

The B.C. government has committed to funding the essentials of a replacement to Surrey Memorial Hospital’s current E.R. The Foundation’s $15-million campaign will ensure the new Emergency Centre is state-of-the-art. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2008.

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For more information or interviews, contact:
Jason Howe
Public Affairs Director
Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation
604-585-5666 ext 8284
cell: 604-613-6873
jason.howe[at]fraserhealth.ca
www.smhfoundation.com