Jim Pattison donates $30 million to New Westminster hospital project

Jim Pattison donates $30 million to new Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster

Artistic rendering of the new Jim Pattison Acute Care Centre at the Royal Columbian Hospital redevelopment in New Westminster. (Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation)

One of Canada’s wealthiest individuals has made yet another major donation to a hospital improvement project in his home area of Metro Vancouver.

It was announced this morning Jim Pattison has donated $30 million to the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation, which will go towards the ongoing $1.49 billion redevelopment of Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.

Pattison’s donation will specifically go towards the second phase of the redevelopment of building a new acute care tower.

In recognition of his donation, which is the largest donation ever within the Fraser Health Authority, the new building will be named the Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower.

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“Upon completion, the Acute Care Tower will further elevate the lifesaving care Royal Columbian Hospital already delivers to patients across the province,” said Jeff Norris, CEO of the hospital foundation, in a statement.

“Major improvements are being made in service to an even larger vision: ensuring uncompromising care to every single person who needs it. The generosity of Jim Pattison — and all the donors who have answered our call — serves as a source of inspiration for others to help us achieve this vision.”

Construction on the Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower began about two years ago, and it is set to reach completion in 2025.

This new building will include not only modern facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, but added floor area for more capacity, added beds for intensive care, cardiac intensive care, obstetrical, and medical/surgical patients, as well as a new larger replacement emergency department with 75 treatment bays and a satellite medical imaging unit.

Other features entail more operating rooms and interventional radiology and cardiac suites, a larger maternity unit joined to the neonatal intensive care unit, a rooftop heliport, and underground parking for over 350 vehicles.

Upon the full completion of the three-phased redevelopment, Royal Columbian Hospital’s patient capacity will have increased by about 50% from 446 to 675 beds.

The first phase of a mental health and addictions treatment centre opened in 2020.

“We are honoured to join the thousands of other donors who have already stepped up to show their support to ensure that its legacy of exceptional care in our province is sustainable for future generations,” said Pattison.

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Royal Columbian Hospital redevelopment plan. (Fraser Health)

Pattison is the founder and owner of his namesake conglomerate, Jim Pattison Group, which includes Save-On-Foods, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, Guinness World Records, radio and television stations, outdoor advertising, and numerous car dealerships.

Over the decades, he has made multi-million dollar donations to hospitals across the province.

In 2017, Pattison donated $75 million towards the new $2.2 billion St. Paul’s Hospital, which is currently under construction in the False Creek Flats. In exchange, upon opening in 2027, the facility will be called Jim Pattison Medical Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital.

Last year, he made a $4 million donation towards upgrades of the 10-year-old Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre in Surrey, which adds to the $5 million he previously donated.

Earlier in 2022, he donated $5 million to Burnaby Hospital Foundation towards its hospital redevelopment project, also under construction at a cost of $1.4 billion.

Pattison is also known for his $20 million donation to Vancouver General Hospital in the late 1990s, which allowed the full completion and use of the 19-storey in-patient tower, known as the Jim Pattison Pavilion. It opened in 2003.

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