The burn unit at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) just got a major boost.
VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation is humbled to accept a $1 million donation from Alexander College, which will fund new cutting-edge equipment, educational programs, and holistic burn care initiatives supporting burn patients across BC and the Yukon.
All funds will be distributed to the BC Professional Firefighters’ Burn, Trauma, and High Acuity Unit (BTHA) at VGH, which treats the region’s most serious burn cases.
“We are deeply grateful to Alexander College for this generous gift,” said Angela Chapman, president and CEO of VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation. “This donation will create a lasting impact for patients across the province, driving advancements in burn care at VGH and beyond. It truly exemplifies the power of philanthropy, empowering us to bring hope, healing, and life-changing improvements to patients when they need it most.”
“Alexander College deeply values its connection to the local community and recognizes the critical role that VGH plays in maintaining the health and wellbeing of our friends, families, and students,” said Eric Zhao, co-owner and vice president of operations at Alexander College. “Upon learning about the exceptional work done by the VGH Burn Unit, which serves patients from across the province, we felt compelled to contribute to their mission.”
A new ‘standard of care for scar management’
Whether through the incident itself or the scarring that results, burn injuries often come with significant trauma, according to BTHA operations manager, Moe Arbab Hesari.
As a result, the donation from Alexander College will strive to improve the wellbeing of burn patients in numerous ways. For instance, the funds will be used to purchase an Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) laser that helps reduce the appearance of scarring after skin grafts.
“A lot of patients, especially in the beginning, say they feel like everyone is looking at their wounds,” Arbab Hesari said. “This should help minimize that.”
Dr. Anthony Papp, medical director of the BTHA, calls the IPL laser a “standard of care for scar management.”
“It’s easily going to affect dozens of patients a year going forward,” he said.
The donation will also fund a counsellor and recreational therapist to support the mental health and physical rehabilitation needs of patients, iPads for every patient in the unit to use at their leisure, and the installation of additional art murals that help create more warm and welcoming care spaces within the unit, such as in the tub room.
“The hope is that this will help bring down their anxiety and stress when entering the room,” Arbab Hesari said.
Enhancing burn care across BC
For Alexander College, another important aspect of the donation is to support any educational efforts to improve burn care around the province.
Notably, the funds will be used to establish a Burn Education Outreach Team, made up of a burn clinician, physiotherapist, and occupational therapist, that strives to educate health care providers outside of VGH and help patients receive the best burn care closer to home.
In the name of continuing education, the donation will also allow the burn unit to send staff to conferences like the American Burn Conference and Canadian Burn Conference.
“This will ensure VGH remains at the forefront of burn care,” Arbab Hesari said.
VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation raises essential funds for specialized adult health care services and research benefiting everyone in BC, supporting the burn unit at VGH and numerous specialized programs across Vancouver Coastal Health.
To support this mission, visit vghfoundation.ca/ways-to-give.