HUNDREDS TRAVEL TO VANCOUVER PER DAY
FOR MEDICAL CARE
WHERE DO THEY STAY?
BC CENTRALIZES HEALTHCARE IN VANCOUVER BUT IGNORES THE HOUSING COMPONENT FOR NON-VANCOUVER RESIDENTS.
When people must travel outside their community to access specialized healthcare, it is reasonable—and responsible—that accommodation be integrated into the care pathway. Ideally, this support would be embedded within their Medical Services Plan, ensuring that navigating lodging is not an added burden during an already stressful medical journey. This need is especially acute for those traveling to Vancouver, the province’s and Yukon’s central healthcare hub, yet also a city facing a severe housing crisis, strict short‑term rental regulations, and an increasingly expensive hotel market. With hotel rooms often costing hundreds of dollars per night, many families are effectively
priced out of the care they are entitled to receive.
The Canada Health Act guarantees equitable access to healthcare, and it is the Province’s duty to ensure that principle is upheld in practice—not just in policy. When patients are required to travel for care, failing to provide appropriate accommodation is a fundamental flaw in a centralized healthcare system, one that places the greatest burden on rural and remote communities. To deliver truly equitable care, the provincial government must take an active role in ensuring that affordable, accessible lodging is available around major medical hubs whenever travel is required for treatment.
Most patients are left to secure and pay for their own accommodation, a symptom that creates cascading harm: stress during an already vulnerable time, delayed or interrupted treatment, medical debt, and in many cases the impossible choice to forgo care entirely. These barriers don’t just affect individuals—they ripple outward, increasing pressure on community emergency rooms, straining the broader health system, and undermining the vision of a StrongerBC built on equitable access and timely care.
Organ transplants are a prime example of this inequity. We ask British Columbians to be organ donors, yet we do not distribute the organs equitably across the province. All transplants are performed in Vancouver—which is clinically appropriate—but requiring a mandatory three‑month relocation for anyone living outside the city, without adequate housing support or logistical guidance, is neither sensible nor just. Most British Columbians cannot afford a second rent in Vancouver at the most vulnerable moment of their lives. As a result, patients face average out‑of‑pocket costs of $18,500 simply to receive the care they qualify for and are asked if they can afford this ahead of being added to the organ transplant waitlist. Since this is not something one can plan for timewise, many caregivers are left scrambling to find something immediately after getting the call, in a city with zero availability. UBC Centre for Rural Health Research: Out of Pocket Cost Study for Transplant Patients, Dr. Jude Kornelsen
Vancouver is also home to other tertiary and quaternary specialties, provincial rehabilitation programs, specialized clinics, and even regional relocation requirements. Some patients benefit from strong models already in place—oncology patients have the Jean C. Barber Lodge and the Travel Treatment Fund (PHSA + Canadian Cancer Society), and families have the Ronald McDonald House and the BC Family Residence Program (PHSA + Variety). These programs demonstrate what is possible when funding is paired with actual housing. This pairing should be available to everyone who must travel for care.
We saw a glimpse of what equitable access could look like when PHSA funded hotel accommodations through Hope Air—a program with a remarkable success rate in helping British Columbians reach the care they need. That portion of funding has now been restricted, a devastating setback for patients who relied on it. Learn more about Hope Air’s success capabilities. However, even with funding, we still need inventory in Vancouver to bring down cost.
British Columbians who must travel to Vancouver for medically necessary care face one of the most preventable barriers in our health system: the high cost and limited availability of appropriate accommodation. Every year the Province, health authorities, and partner agencies spend tens of millions of dollars on market rate hotel rooms, often paying more than 500 dollars per night for patients who simply need a safe place to stay. Investing in dedicated medical housing immediately reduces these costs and ultimately to below 100 dollars per night while improving health outcomes, reducing cancelled procedures, and easing pressure on emergency departments.
The inequity is clear. Rural, remote, and Indigenous patients pay far more and travel far longer to access the same care available to those living in the Lower Mainland. This stands in direct contrast to the principles of universal access and the commitments made through the Canada Health Act, StrongerBC, DRIPA, and the Province’s health equity agenda. By shifting existing hotel expenditures into long term, purpose secured patient housing, the government can deliver meaningful affordability relief, uphold its commitment to equitable care, and create a lasting improvement to the health system at a fraction of current spending.
PATIENT HOUSING:
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Removes a major structural barrier for rural, remote, and Indigenous patients.
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Reduces cancellations and delays for surgeries.
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Lightens load of community ER rooms.
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Creates significant cost savings by shifting spending away from high-cost hotel rooms.
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Embeds cultural safety through Indigenous navigation and partnership.
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Aligns with BC’s commitments under the Medical Services Plan, the Canada Health Act, DRIPA, and StrongerBC.
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Allows for proper dataset around traveling patients.
WHERE SHOULD THEY STAY?
WHAT IS TEMPORARY PATIENT HOUSING?
Temporary patient housing provides safe, flexible, affordable places to stay for people who must travel to access medical care. In Vancouver, this typically means short-term, fully furnished accommodations available from a single night to several months. At its core, it is simply a place for patients and caregivers to stay when relocated for care.
Call it patient housing, lodging, accommodation, or temporary housing—the concept is straightforward: Affordable + available = accessible care.
WHAT THIS HOUSING MUST LOOK LIKE
While patient housing doesn’t need to be a hotel, it must operate like one:
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Flexible stays - from one night to several months
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24/7 access - last-minute check-ins and support
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Convenient - an obvious and easy choice near the hospital
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Rapid turnover - rooms flipped quickly and reliably
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Professional management - bookings, cleaning, rule enforcement
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Practical layouts - some units with kitchens, multiple beds/baths
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Privacy - quiet, secure spaces
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Shared spaces - laundry, lounges, gym, community support
This is the home‑away‑from‑home model - either purpose‑built or integrated into mixed‑use developments with patient‑specific design features.
WHY HOSPITAL-ADJACENT HOUSING MAKES SENSE
Locating temporary patient housing located on or near hospital campuses is the most logical and effective approach. Local health authorities and hospital foundations are well‑positioned to support this model, and it could be embedded into mandates province‑wide. Every health authority either receives or sends patients who must travel for care. JoeAnna's House in Kelowna is a perfect example.
This approach enables:
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Accurate data collection on traveling patients
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Better system navigation between health authorities
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More coordinated care and smoother transitions
WHY PROVINCIAL APPROVAL IS ESSENTIAL
Provincial leadership is the linchpin of this initiative. Patient housing is a one‑government issue, touching multiple ministries and every municipality in British Columbia—and even the Yukon. Only the Province can coordinate the cross‑ministry collaboration required to integrate temporary patient housing into BC’s public health insurance plan, improving patient navigation and ensuring equitable access to care.
Provincial endorsement also unlocks broader support. Major donors and partners typically require clear provincial backing before investing, as seen recently with Willow House, Vancouver’s second Ronald McDonald House.
THE STR BARRIER
Current Short‑Term Rental (STR) regulations prohibit residential stays under 90 days. Patients need short stays, not 90-day leases - forcing them into expensive hotels.
Before STR rules tightened, apartments near hospitals offered flexible stays, and Airbnbs - though costly - provided options. Today, only principal-residence Airbnbs remain, and they are scarce.
The solution is not to reverse STR regulations, but to create a provincial exemption allowing residential use for temporary patient housing. This exemption is essential for future developments and for creating legal, stable inventory. Several developments near Vancouver General Hospital could service patients immediately - but cannot legally do so without this exemption.
Vancouver hosts these patients but has the least incentive to solve the problem. Residents do not need patient housing and often resist dedicating residential space to out-of-town visitors. Yet Vancouver benefits economically from hosting patients and from having world-class healthcare in its backyard.
This makes provincial leadership essential to protect the needs of communities outside Vancouver, whose residents rely on Vancouver accommodations to access care.
Ultimately, the Province must uphold the Canada Health Act and ensure every British Columbian can access healthcare. Patients are not tourists. They deserve appropriate, affordable, legal accommodations.
ZONING BARRIERS
There is no official zoning category for patient housing. Ronald McDonald House had to work with the City to create bespoke zoning - an approach that only applies to non-profits that own and operate the entire building and land. This model is not scalable or affordable for the broader patient population.
THE ROLE OF HOTELS — AND THEIR LIMITATIONS
Hotels play a role, but they cannot be the backbone of patient housing.
Hotel developers near hospitals have shown limited interest, with some explicitly telling city planners they do not want to participate.
Incentives could help—for example, a 20‑year lease on three floors dedicated to patient housing in exchange for additional height variance. The City of Vancouver could design similar tools for future hotel developments.
But hotels are not designed around patient needs. They fluctuate with tourism demand and have no obligation to provide stable, affordable, medically appropriate accommodations.
This is why partnerships with residential developers—and purpose‑built or mixed‑use patient housing—are essential. Potential collaborators include Bosa Properties and Dunna’eh.
THE PATH FORWARD
BC needs housing associated with healthcare visits. The Province must:
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Integrate patient housing into the healthcare system
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Create STR exemptions for temporary patient housing
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Work with Vancouver on hotel‑related incentives
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Secure travel funding for all patients - not just oncology and RMH families
HOW MUCH SPACE IS NEEDED?
Demand is already visible: hotel rooms and short-term rentals are being used - inefficiently and expensively - by:
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MSDPR
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FNHA
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Yukon patients
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Middle‑income patients receiving no support
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Caregivers and hospital visitors
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Ronald McDonald House overflow
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Canadian Cancer Society overflow
The Canadian Cancer Society has already leased 20 apartments - an improvised solution that highlights the scale of need.
THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM
More than 500 patients per day are in Vancouver for medical care. Every patient-focused housing model in BC is at capacity.
If JoeAnna’s House sustains 30 rooms, RMH sees demand for 150 rooms, and the Holiday Inn fills 197 rooms almost entirely with medical stays, then Vancouver's need clearly falls within - and likely exceeds - this range.
A realistic starting point:
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100 leased apartments or hotel rooms
Housing is Healthcare will begin fundraising in 2027 for the Hotel of Hope. Phase 1 will be a Lease-to-Heal model containing a group of headleases, apartment or hotel - depending on the state of the STR exemption request.
Advocacy + Research continues...
While we are committed to creating a solution for temporary patient housing in Vancouver, we also recognize that another isolated initiative would amount to yet another Band‑Aid on an already strained system. What British Columbians need is a redesigned, integrated framework—one that provides umbrella funding and coordinated support for equitable access to care. This must include accommodation, travel assistance, and system navigation for anyone who cannot receive the healthcare they need in their home community. Without this systemic remodeling, temporary fixes will continue to fail the very people the system is meant to serve.
System savings and overall benefits to timely care through accommodation is important to illustrate; we will dive into this as we approach 2027.
