Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) new School of Medicine has received the largest donation that SFU has ever received.
The Stephen’s family has donated $40 million to the new school which will better support students training to become B.C.’s future doctors.
“We’re in a context nationally and internationally of a shortage of healthcare workers. We’re in competition with jurisdictions around the world for those healthcare workers and in particular,” said Premier David Eby at a press conference Friday.
“More people can find a family doctor close to home. This new school is just one way our government is improving health care in British Columbia and south of the Fraser. Thank you to the Stephens family for their remarkable generosity.”
Due to the donation, SFU’s medical school will be named the SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine.
Progress has been made in connecting people with family doctors within B.C.
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“We are making progress in connecting people to family doctors. Without doubt, since 2023 we’ve connected 600,000 British Columbians to a family doctor and today we are leading the country and connecting people to family doctors, 77 per cent of British Colombians have access to a family doctor.”
Despite this, one in five people in B.C. are still without a family doctor.
“Even though every week we match 4000 more people with a family doctor, and even though we have had a remarkable campaign of recruiting American doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers to British Columbia.”
Eby is positive that more people will be matched with family doctors with the increase in recruitment from the U.S.
“More than 700 [Americans] have taken jobs here in the province in the last few months and more than 2000 have applied for jobs.”
With the opening of the SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine, Eby hopes that more doctors will be trained that want to fill the gaps in the shortage of family doctors.“We know that for our province to be sustainable in terms of our healthcare system, we have to train more people, and we have to train them with a philosophy of community service.”
“Supporting the next generation of physicians is the best use of your and our resources, the investment with the greatest possible return for the good of society,” Ratana and Arran Stephens said in a joint statement on their donation to SFU.
Eby also thanked those who are already working towards bringing more new family doctors into B.C.
“The people who work in our medical schools, at UBC, all the distributed campuses, the doctors, the nurses, the Health Science professionals, the hospital workers who mentor others, who lift them up and deliver that care, they are part of the solution.”
“The new students of [SFU] which are joining in September. They will build community, they will support families, and the core and the heart of this medical school”