Fraser Canyon Hospital (FCH) is a publicly funded community hospital in the town of Hope,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The hospital is both owned and operated by the

Fraser Health The Fraser Health Authority (FHA) is one of five publicly funded health authorities into which the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) is divided. It is governed by the provincial ''Health Authorities Act''. History Fraser Health was crea ...

Authority (FHA).

Overview

FCH is a 10-bed hospital and provides services including: 24/7 emergency care stabilization and triage and hospice beds and services. Emergency care stabilization and triage 24/7 is a critical need for Fraser Canyon Hospital due to its geographic isolation and the number of travellers using the major highways that converge in the area. One such traveller was Grand Chief

Stewart Phillip Grand Chief Stewart Phillip is an Okanagan Aboriginal leader who has served as President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs since 1998. As Chief of the Penticton Indian Band in British Columbia from 1994 until 2008, as well as Chair of the Okanagan ...

who was triaged at FCH in 2014 after his car flipped over. On April 17, 1999, an 8-year-old girl playing near Kawkawa Lake Camp was treated at FCH after being attacked by young female cougar.

History

The establishment of a hospital was a political issue in the 1950s, escalated by the 1956

Slesse Mountain Slesse Mountain, usually referred to as Mount Slesse, is a mountain just north of the US-Canada border, in the Cascade Mountains of British Columbia, near the town of Chilliwack. It is notable for its large, steep local relief. For example, its w ...

airplane crash that killed all 62 people on board. Efforts and assets by the local Medical Clinic Association to set up a privately operated facility were transferred to the Hope Hospital Association to build and operate a government-backed hospital. Area MLA Irvine Finlay Corbett of the

British Columbia Social Credit Party The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing provincial political party of British Columbia, Canada, for all but three years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election. For fou ...

was an advocate but died in his own air crash prior to the opening of the hospital. Health Minister Eric Martin officially opened FCH on January 10, 1959. The 20-bed hospital was complete with delivery and operating rooms.Simone Rolph - Hope Standard, Published: 14 January 2009 In 2001, its governance transferred from the Fraser Valley Health Region to the newly created and larger

Authority as part of a province-wide restructuring of health authorities.

Philanthropy

The hospital is supported by th
Fraser Valley Healthcare Foundation
and by the ''Auxiliary to the Fraser Canyon Hospital and Fraser Hope Lodge'' which operates gift shops in both facilities.

References

{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1959 Hospitals in British Columbia Hospitals established in 1959