Together, we transform health care
Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), UBC Hospital and several donor-supported health care centres across Vancouver Coastal Health are home to world-class clinician-scientists who’ve made it their purpose to better save and improve lives. Whether it’s through critical bench-to-bedside research or being on-hand in the operating room, these individuals provide care to patient’s suffering from the most complex and challenging cases from across BC and the Yukon.
Yet despite the pressures of an oft fast-paced and challenging role, these clinician-scientists couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Dr. Myp Sekhon
Dr. Myp Sekhon is an intensive care physician and clinician-scientist at VGH who is on the forefront of neurocritical care. He spends his days providing expert care for those in need and conducting life-saving and innovative research to better improve the care of tomorrow.
“I have the best job in the world,” says Dr. Sekhon. “I come to work and I’m among friends who are also my colleagues. Our ICU team works every day, together, to help people and their loved ones when they need it most.”
Dr. Sekhon splits his time into two vital yet mutually critical roles. One is clinical, where he is in the ICU at VGH, looking after critically ill patients. He helps them get through some of the most challenging health problems in their lives, particularly pertaining to trauma of the brain.
Dr. Sekhon is one of a few clinicians utilizing the donor-funded “Brain Bolt”—a life-saving brain monitoring device which places specialized catheters into a patient’s brain to personalize their management. This provides the ICU team with vital second-to-second information to completely optimize the patient’s treatment.
The other is in research, where Dr. Sekhon studies brain function, especially under critical illness, to better understand and uncover new and improved treatments.
“I do this work and I do it proud knowing we’re making a difference,” says Dr. Sekhon.
Dr. Lily Zhou
Dr. Lily Zhou is a stroke neurologist at VGH and an assistant professor with UBC in the Department of Neurology. To her, the brain is one of the most fascinating parts of the body.
“I love being a neurologist. A person’s neurology makes up a huge part of their identity, what they’re able to do day-to-day. Helping those people is incredible,” says. Dr. Zhou. “I have seen patients who can’t speak, or they’re paralyzed on half of their body. When we catch those people early and provide care for them, we can reverse the problem completely. Those same people have arrived in my care disabled were later discharged home to live a normal life.”
“This is the transformative power of health care,” adds Dr. Zhou. “To take someone from their worst health challenge back to living as best they can. But this power is only as strong as we collectively make it.”
Dr. Zhou is a former Fellowship recipient, having had her education funded through the help of donations.
“It propelled me into the specialty care I’m now able to provide to British Columbians,” says Dr. Zhou. “And it will fund the next medical breakthrough.”
Dr. Brian Kwon
Dr. Brian Kwon is a spine surgeon at VGH, the Canada Research Chair in Spinal Cord Injury, and the Marcel Dvorak Chair in Spine Trauma. His decorated career has helped countless individuals who have suffered spinal trauma and disease, helping restore and improve their health.
“It is a real gift to be able to care for patients,” says Dr. Kwon. “When I go to work, I know I’m about to help someone with either catastrophic injuries or severe life-altering conditions. And the opportunity to actually provide care that gets people back to a better functioning, higher quality of life is a real privilege.”
Like many of his colleagues, Dr. Kwon is both in the clinic and conducting research.
“One day I can be in the operating room, making a difference in the lives of those people on that day. The next I could be in the lab, working on research that is going to move the needle forward, discover new treatments, and change the way we actually practice medicine in the future,” says Dr. Kwon.
A visionary and philanthropic leader, Dr. Kwon has personally donated more than $1.5 million to improve spinal cord research and care in BC, and to establish a spinal cord injury “Living Lab” centered at VGH, UBC and the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre.
The “Living Lab” is a novel idea which aims to ensure that patients who suffer a catastrophic spinal cord injury and are brought to VGH have access to the most advanced treatments and cutting-edge research studies to maximize recovery. It also will enable patients to be part of the scientific discovery process that will enhance and inform novel personalized medicine approaches.
Transforming health care
Hundreds of donors will join VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation at this years Time to Shine gala, co-presented by Peterson and Viva Pharmaceutical, to raise funds for these three remarkable physicians and their colleagues at Vancouver Coastal Health.
VGH & UBC Hospital is committed to transforming health care to put us within reach of tomorrow’s treatments and cures. We work together, with donors, to ensure clinician-scientists like Drs. Sekhon, Zhou and Kwon are empowered to do what they do best—save and improve lives.
Learn more about the Time to Shine gala and join the effort to transform health care at vghfoundation.ca/shine
