Teck donates $2.5M to support emergency programs and services at St. Paul's Hospital

"Teck has demonstrated tremendous vision and we are extremely grateful for its generous gift to the hospital," said Dianne Doyle, President and CEO of Providence Health Care. "Our redesigned and improved emergency centre is now one of the most advanced in the country and ensures that the tens of thousands of patients who come to St. Paul's for emergency care each year will continue to receive the high-quality care they have come to expect."  

The emergency area at St. Paul's Hospital optimizes patient flow and delivers timely, efficient and effective care with features such as:

• Canada's first rapid assessment zone, which reduces the wait-times and length of stay for patients with serious but stable illnesses.
• B.C.'s first 24-hour diagnostic treatment unit, which allows staff to aggressively diagnose and treat conditions such as asthma, chest pain, stroke, heart failure and overdoses - avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions in the process.
• A new high-tech trauma unit that acts as a mini intensive care unit (ICU) to treat the most urgent, life-threatening conditions.
• Two redesigned acute treatment areas with enhanced layouts to ensure the best care for patients, as well as advanced patient information systems. 
• A new triage and admitting area that has reduced admission from 15-20 minutes to approximately five minutes.
• A fast track area, where patients with urgent but less serious conditions can be treated quickly and released.
• Real-time electronic tracking boards (like those found in airports) that reveal where patients are, who is treating them, what tests they are undergoing and if their treatment time is meeting department guidelines.
• Fully electronic patient records using state-of-the-art bedside computers for easy and timely access to patient information.
• An electronic patient discharge system, which sends a comprehensive health record to each patient's physician by the next business day.