Chilliwack General Hospital fundraiser launched for maternity clinic

A new maternity clinic is expected to open in Chilliwack in February, and the Fraser Valley Health and Chilliwack Hospital Foundations have launched a fundraising campaign seeking community support.

Chilliwack family physician Alison Henry says the clinic will provide a quality level of care for the patient.

“This is a model of all-encompassing care that has been done in other communities with great success,” Henry said.

“We are hoping to bring that care to Chilliwack as well.”

Braden Beaumont, a longtime physician in the city, says the hope is that this will mark the beginning of a new era as part of a local solution to a nationwide problem.

He says Chilliwack, one of the fastest growing cities in B.C., faces a rapidly worsening shortage of family doctors.

Beaumont says that when he started in 2018, there were 20 or 25 doctors in the city.

“Since then, it has shrunk down to about five or six family doctors.”

The sharp decline is mainly due to retirements and career change, he says. This, as well as slow recruitment and population growth, puts community access to maternity care at a critical point.

Chilliwack is no outlier. Less than a week ago, Fraser Health announced it would be redirecting scheduled births at Peace Arch Memorial and Ridge Meadows hospitals over the holidays, due to a shortage of OB/GYNs.

The Fraser Valley Health and Chilliwack Hospital Foundations say donations are urgently needed to reach their $300,000 goal.