BC Women’s Hospital Foundation is celebrating a $3-million gift from the Lalji family, used to support the renovated Urgent Care Centre.
The Lalji Family Urgent Care Centre at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre is the only one of its kind in Canada, caring for more than 10,000 patients each year. This redesigned space provides a quiet, private and welcoming space for women who arrive for triage, assessment, and admissions to BC Women’s Hospital – ranging from women who are pregnant, to six weeks post-birth.
Since the opening in January 2018, the majority of patients surveyed have given the highest possible ratings for feeling welcomed, acceptable wait times, and being involved in decisions.
Grateful for their lives, the Laljis are honoured to give back to those just beginning theirs. In the 1970s, the Lalji family fled violence in Uganda and found peace and safety in Canada. They now wish to offer a similar safe harbour of care to new mothers and their babies at the Lalji Family Urgent Care Centre at BC Women’s Hospital. By establishing their successful real estate business, Larco Investments, the Laljis have been able to generously support many important causes.
The Lalji family values women as a cornerstone of society and is passionate about contributing to building healthy families and communities. “Coming to Canada has given us immense opportunity and this is just one way that we can give back to people who need care at such an important time in their lives,” said Mansoor Lalji.
The Lalji Family Urgent Care Centre features:
- a welcoming, redesigned space with a vastly larger footprint, decreasing wait times and improving the way patients experience their stay;
- double the number of beds, for a total of ten large private rooms, each with a private washroom and a designated space for a family member;
- a dedicated registered nurse, meaning patients are less likely to repeat the same information to different health-care professionals; and .
- an expansion in services to now include inductions, which used to take place in a separate area, resulting in less walking, less delays, and an overall better experience.
Special attention was paid to ensure the Lalji Family Urgent Care Centre remained “curbside” upon the opening of the BC Women’s High Risk Labour and Delivery ward in the Teck Acute Care Centre in October 2017 to ensure the hospital entrance was easy to find for women and families seeking care.
“The gift the Laljis have given BC Women’s is a testament to their commitment to giving back to the community that supported them,” said Genesa M. Greening, President and CEO of BC Women’s Hospital Foundation. “They are living out the values of what it means to pay it forward, and we hope that the future generations of British Columbians who will begin their lives here will be just as inspired.”