VANCOUVER — One of the defining features of the new St. Paul’s Hospital was front and centre during a recent tour of the state-of-the-art facility under construction in Vancouver’s False Creek Flats: every patient will have a private room.
Archbishop Richard Smith said he found the concept of private rooms “revolutionary” and shows how the new hospital has been designed to put patient dignity at its centre with features like private rooms.
Patients feel vulnerable in a hospital, he said during the tour with Providence Health Care leaders, and something as simple one’s own space can make a difference by allowing privacy, better conversations with doctors, and a sense of safety.
“Sometimes you hear people say, ‘I don’t want to go to a hospital, I don’t feel safe there,’” he said. “We want to let them know they are surrounded by safety and love.”
The tour began with an elevator ride to the roof, followed by a descent floor by floor, stopping at key areas such as the patient rooms, surgery, and ending at the hospital’s chapel, just off the main entrance.
Archbishop Smith described the chapel as another visible sign of the hospital’s Catholic mission. “It’s a great reminder of who we are and why we do what we do.”
Catholic health care carries forward the healing ministry of Jesus, the Archbishop said. The chapel not only reminds staff and patients of that mission, but its prominent placement near the hospital entrance is “a testament to the faith that inspires everything we are doing here,” he said.
”You see right away who we are. You see this is our identity. This is why we do what we do.”
Francis Maza, Providence’s vice president of mission, ethics, and spirituality, said the project builds on more than a century of Catholic health care in Vancouver.
“Providence and St. Paul’s is well known by the community,” he said. “[The new building] stands as a testament of the commitment we have to the people in the community.”
The Archbishop is bringing to the project a “new energy and desire to be involved in health care,” reaffirming the organization’s commitment to social justice and serving the poor.
“When I think of the mission of Providence Health Care as it’s transferred from archbishop to archbishop — 130 years later we are still here serving the people of Vancouver.”
Kevin Hunt, the construction site’s chief project officer, said design decisions were shaped by collaboration with clinical staff, right down to practical details such as door hinges.
The $2.18 billion facility broke ground in 2021 and is expected to open in 2027. It will feature 548 beds — an increase of 25 percent over the current hospital — along with a larger emergency department, critical care complex, and surgical suites. The building is designed to withstand earthquakes, adapt to rising sea levels, and even operate off-grid for up to 72 hours during a major disaster.
For Archbishop Smith, the innovations are important, but they all point back to the same foundation: a ministry of care rooted in Christ’s healing mission.
The $2.18 billion facility broke ground in 2021 and is expected to open in 2027. It will feature 548 beds — an increase of 25 percent over the current hospital — along with a larger emergency department, critical care complex, and surgical suites. The building is designed to withstand earthquakes, adapt to rising sea levels, and even operate off-grid for up to 72 hours during a major disaster.
For Archbishop Smith, those innovations are important, but they all point back to the same foundation: a ministry of care rooted in Christ’s healing mission.
