Today marks the first anniversary of the opening of the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre to care for patients. This state-of-the-art facility was the first integrated hospital and cancer centre built through a public private partnership.

Serving 330,000 people in the Fraser Valley, new and expanded health services are now available at this state-of-the-art facility.

The MLAs for the region, Abbotsford Mayor George Perry, Dr. Nigel Murray, CEO, Fraser Health and Michael Marchbank, Executive Vice President, Quality Management, Performance Improvement and Innovation, Provincial Health Services Authority, were on hand to unveil a plaque commemorating the anniversary.

“In the 365 days since Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre opened, thousands of patients have benefited from improved care in an exceptional facility,” said Abbotsford West MLA Michael de Jong. “Building better patient care, and providing close-to-home cancer treatment, is what it is all about.”

“Our community is benefiting from a superior hospital with expanded services for children, seniors and cancer patients. I want to thank everyone who made ARHCC a reality – from those who championed it, the people involved in moving day and the hundreds of health care workers dedicated to exemplary patient care,” said Abbotsford South MLA John van Dongen.

Dr. Nigel Murray recognized the contributions of the many individuals whose efforts ensure quality patient care at the new facility. “Abbotsford Regional Hospital provides critical services in the network of health services for the people of Fraser Health. I want to congratulate the employees, physicians and volunteers who have done an exemplary job in providing new and expanded services in this first year of operations.”

“The BC Cancer Agency’s Abbotsford Centre, an integral part of the Agency’s provincial cancer control program, has improved the access to care for patients in the Fraser Valley,” said Lynda Cranston, president and CEO, PHSA. “Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated staff, physicians and volunteers, we have been able to provide our patients with the full spectrum of cancer care services, closer to home, from day one.”

The BC Cancer Agency’s Abbotsford Centre is the fifth regional cancer centre to open in the province and represents a critical expansion of the provincial cancer control network. Since opening for patient care August 25 of last year, there have been about 30,000 patient visits to the new centre.

Abbotsford Regional Hospital serves as a community hospital to 150,000 Abbotsford residents, offering increased access to acute care, outpatient services and health information and is an important regional referral hospital for 330,000 residents in the Fraser Valley.

In its first year, there were about 2,200 births, and 50,000 visits to the Emergency Department. More than 4,000 people were inpatients and about 130,000 people were treated at the outpatients clinics. And 5,000 patients received dialysis treatments close to home.

Fraser Health provides a wide range of integrated health services to the largest and fastest growing population in B.C. The health authority is committed to improving the health of the population and the quality of life of more than 1.5 million people living in communities from Burnaby to White Rock to Hope.

The BC Cancer Agency, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, is committed to reducing the incidence of cancer, reducing the mortality from cancer, and improving the quality of life of those living with cancer. It provides a comprehensive cancer control program for the people of British Columbia by working with community partners to deliver a range of oncology services, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, research, education, supportive care, rehabilitation and palliative care. The BC Cancer Foundation raises funds to support research and enhancements to patient care at the BC Cancer Agency.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Fraser Health Media Pager
604-450-7881
www.fraserhealth.ca

BC Cancer Agency
604-918-1043 (pager)
www.bccancer.bc.ca