Research and Tech Hub is the Best IDEA
Upgrades to any institution can be a catalyst for related economic opportunities in the community and the three-phase undertaking at Royal Columbian Hospital is a great example. It has inspired a City of New Westminster task force in partnership with the Fraser Health Authority and the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation to develop a medically related research and technology hub known as IDEA Centre.
Mark Allison, manager, strategic initiatives and sustainability for the City of New Westminster, says, “This is the perfect time to plan for such an initiative. A few years ago, a study revealed that Royal Columbian generated $526 million annually in economic activity in B.C., most of it in Greater Vancouver, and the upgraded hospital will cause that figure to climb to over $747 million.”
IDEA Centre will transform the precinct surrounding Royal Columbian into a mecca for research and technology advancements and post-secondary partnerships with the goal of improving healthcare in the region and farther afield.
IDEA Centre will encourage globally recognized medical talent to serve as clinicians, educators and researchers at Royal Columbian, as well as partner with institutions such as the University of British Columbia. In turn, this will result in ongoing medical and health sciences vacancies being filled; increase the presence of higher education institutions at Royal Columbian; generate research leading to next-generation medical and life sciences technologies and practices; and perhaps even provide a new model for health districts.
Allison notes, “Research and innovation is really the key to the future, and in this regard our IDEA Centre is not without precedent: B.C.’S Surrey Memorial Hospital developed a research hub when that facility was being expanded a few years ago, and similar examples abound in other parts of Canada and the U.S.”
New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Cote says a special employment area around Royal Columbian has already been designated, and an initial hub could be established within a few years. “This is an entirely appropriate development for us, as Royal Columbian is by far New Westminster’s biggest employer: one in five jobs in this city pertain to health care.”
Allison concludes, “Combined with thousands of new health care professionals coming into Royal Columbian thanks to the upgrades, IDEA Centre will be a huge economic engine that will also spur related services and amenities in New Westminster.”
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