A first-of-its-kind children’s complex care transition facility in B.C. will move forward with the approval of a concept plan.
“The children’s complex care transition centre, operated by the BC Children’s Hospital, is an opportunity to show innovation by filling gaps in much-needed services and supports for children and young people with complex care needs and will be complementary to what is currently provided in acute care and community settings,” said Adrian Dix, minister of health. “While other jurisdictions in Canada offer similar services through separate programs, this will be the first centre in the country to provide such a comprehensive range of supports for children with medical complexity at a single site.”
Children with complex care needs often require many different supports that are often challenging for families and caregivers to provide from home. The complex care transition centre will serve as a stepping-stone between acute hospital care, community care and home, providing services under a new, unique model of care designed to support patients and families with the transition.
The province stated the centre’s care will be fully integrated, patient and family-centred, and provide trauma-informed care in a culturally safe environment.
Patients up to 19 years of age and their families will be able to access health-care services ranging from assessment, examination and treatment to education, training and research. Care will be provided by an interdisciplinary team of doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and allied health professionals.
The centre will also provide training for parents and caregivers to help with care delivery at home, as well as supports for siblings. In addition, the virtual campus and provincewide community-based care network will extend the reach of the centre to every area of B.C. and will also include training and support for caregivers and clinicians.
The new facility will be located at the current site of the Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, which is on schedule to relocate to the main campus of the BC Children’s and Women’s Hospitals at the end of August. Sunny Hill’s relocation is part of the third and final phase of the BC Children’s and BC Women’s Redevelopment Project, which also included construction of a new clinical support building and the Teck Acute Care Centre.
