$82 million mental health and addiction centre at VGH will become B.C.'s largest of its kind
A new, leading mental health and addictions treatment facility will be built on the Vancouver General Hospital site.
The Joseph and Rosalie Segal Family Health Center (JRSFHC) is anticipated to open in spring 2017. Construction is expected to begin this winter. The center will cost an estimated $82 million to build and will be the largest facility of its kind in British Columbia.
“By using current best practices in environmental design, treatment therapy and technology, this new facility has the potential to transform mental health care in this province,” commented Health Minister Terry Lake, in a statement released by Vancouver Coastal Health.
The eight-story facility will combine inpatient, outpatient and addiction services care into one building. The JRSFHC has been designed with input from leading mental health consumers and experts, health care providers and trauma care specialists.
“The Segal Family Health Center will be a healing place,” commented Dr. Soma Ganesan , medical director of psychiatry at Vancouver Coastal Health.
“It will provide compassionate mental health care while maintaining the highest level of dignity for patients.”
The provincial government is committing $57 million to the project. VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation have pledged $25 million and $12 million of that amount has been donated by Joseph and Rosalie Segal and their family. This donation is the largest of its kind for mental-health in Canadian history.
The century old Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam was shut down in 2012. It is still unknown whether the site will be converted back into a mental health facility, or if the land will be granted to the Kwikwetlem First Nation. The closure of the hospital has led many mental health patients to go without adequate care.
In June, the City of Coquitlam openly stated that it wants the Riverview grounds revitalized and reopened for mental health and drug rehabilitation services.
Feature Image:Via Vancouver Coastal Health
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