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.
The cost of hotel accommodation in Vancouver is too high for out-of-town patients and there currently is no other short-term patient housing option.
This leads to anxiety, debt, GoFundMes, forgoing care altogether and early end of life. This weighs on community ER rooms, tolls the system, and does not create a StrongerBC. It represents neglect and inequity within our healthcare and does not uphold the Canada Health Act.
Organ transplantation is a prime example as we call on our communities to selflessly donate diseased organs but do not distribute them fairly. Transplants only occur in Vancouver and require a 3-month mandatory relocation for those from outside of the Lower Mainland, resulting in out-of-pocket costs of an average $18,500 - Dr. Jude Kornelsen, UBC Centre for Rural Health Research.
Where should they stay?
HOTEL OF HOPE
LEASE -TO-HEAL MODEL
Rather than building a facility upfront, we will partner with a developer on a hotel or mixed-use project close to the hospital to include patient extended stays within a set of floors or designated shell, preferably with a private entrance and offered at an extremely affordable rate to the patient.
-
Lower upfront capital requirements
-
Faster time to implementation
-
Ability to scale over time across the province
This hybrid hotel model features designs specific to recovery.
-
Potential elements could include:
-
Infection-controlled environments
-
Housekeeping and services aligned with immunocompromised needs
-
Flexible stay durations (from days to weeks to several months)
-
Communal area for companionship
-
Private kitchen for dietary needs
Purpose built, affordable, close.
Partners needed to make this build possible include:
BC Transplant
PHSA
St. Paul's
MOH
VCH
VGH+
City of Vancouver
developer
partnership
Municipalities
other health
authorities
