B.C. to build housing for health-care workers near new Cloverdale hospital site

In an effort to attract and retain health-care workers, the B.C. government announced Tuesday that it will be building rental housing for workers near the new Cloverdale hospital.

Health Minister Adrian Dix, Premier David Eby, and Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon made the announcement at the site of the under-construction Surrey hospital and BC Cancer Centre.

“Through this BC Builds initiative, we will be able to build first-of-its-kind housing to help health-care workers and their families find homes they can afford, and help people get the health care they need,” Kahlon shared.

The new hospital is located on 176th Street, near the Kwantlen Polytechnic University campus. Construction began 12 months ago, with the hospital set to open in 2029. The total cost of the project is expected to be $2.88 billion.

Eby explained Tuesday that health-care workers face similar barriers that many British Columbians face — trouble finding a decent, affordable home to rent or buy.

“This is a site where we’re using publicly owned land, health authority land, to build housing for health-care workers to support in recruitment and retention at the beautiful new Surrey hospital,” he said.

“We’re doing this kind of work with school boards, with city governments, and with other public landowners to ensure that workers can find the homes that they need,” he added.

“I don’t think it’s any secret, and it’s certainly front of mind for many in British Columbia, the challenge that we face around health-care. It’s not a unique challenge to B.C. It’s a challenge faced all across Canada.”

Occupational Therapist Victoria Holt added that having workforce housing directly helps address the troubles health-care workers have in finding homes.

“Reducing commute times means health-care workers can spend more time doing what we love, caring for our patients, without the added stress of long and tiring journeys to and from work,” Holt explained.

“It also means having more quality times with our families and friends and maybe financial relief, which is essential for mental and emotional well-being.”

She added being close to work will foster community and support one another.

“Knowing that our employer and the province are committed to supporting health-care workers helps make us as professionals feel appreciated. It sends a clear message that our well-being is a priority, which in turn, can make us more dedicated to our roles,” she explained.

4,000 British Columbians being attached to primary care physicians every week: premier

Eby also took the time to provide updates on his government’s effort to connect people with family doctors.

“Our government is proud to share that we have connected 248,500 people to a family doctor or nurse practitioner in the last 12 months in the province of British Columbia,” he said.

“We’ve got hundreds of more people getting matched every single day, 4,000 a week, and our projections are that over the next six months, we’ll be connecting a further 250,000 British Columbians to a family doctor or a nurse practitioner.”

Dix added that a net new 835 family doctors are now practicing in the province.

“Across the board, [we have] a commitment to train more, to support health-care workers more, to recruit more, to bring in more internationally educated health-care workers. That is our commitment,” Dix said.

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