BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre is the only dedicated hospital and health centre for women in British Columbia.
Women comprise 52 percent of the population of this province and are a significant group of health-care users. In addition to our unique childbearing capacity, women’s bodies are different from men’s. While on average women live longer than men in British Columbia, many do so with chronic conditions or diseases that limit mobility, independence and quality of life. Women are more vulnerable to conditions such as osteoporosis and suffer from different types of cancer. Female bodies react differently to treatment and medications, both when pregnant and not.
The existence of a facility like BC Women’s means that women’s health issues receive the attention they deserve. BC Women’s has a provincial mandate to act as a resource for women and health care providers across BC and the ability to attract the best health care providers and researchers to realize improvements in women’s health.
Approximately 6,200 babies are born here each year, making BC Women's one of Canada's largest maternity hospitals. BC Women's is the quaternary centre for neonatal care in BC, serving the most sick and tiniest babies.
We are home to the provincial Medical Genetics program, providing genetic assessments for women who are pregnant or planning to become so, as well as children and adults throughout BC.
BC Women's offers a range of specialty gynecology services. We provide care to women with chronic pelvic pain and have a unique early pregnancy assessment service.
The Oak Tree Clinic provides specialized, interprofessional HIV care for women across the lifespan, including reproductive health, pregnancy, menopause and beyond in a safe environment.
In 2013, we established the Complex Chronic Disease Program to support people living with alternatively diagnosed chronic Lyme syndrome, fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.
We offer a range of other women's programs through our Women's Health Centre, including services for heart health, breast health, as well as access to clinical reproductive health screening for women with disabilities.
We support the provision of violence- and trauma-informed care for women and support the development of skills and policy to address violence against women and girls. We offer dedicated services for Aboriginal women and newcomer women, and support health care providers to practice women-centred care to meet the needs of all women in the province.
BC Women’s provides provincial leadership by developing, maintaining and participating in networks of partners who share the goal of better health for women, newborns and their families.
The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) plans, manages and evaluates selected specialty and province-wide health care services across BC, working with the geographic health authorities and the First Nations Health Authority to deliver province-wide solutions that improve the health of British Columbians.
As part of PHSA, BC Women’s strategic action plan supports PHSA's strategic direction, outlined in the PHSA Services Plan.
Please visit this link for PHSA's recently updated vision, mission and values.
Within all services and programs at BC Women's, we are committed to maintaining and continuously improving the quality and safety of our care for women, newborns and their families.
