B.C. announces complex care site for children

Children in British Columbia with extraordinary health needs that require complex care are to receive support at a single site scheduled to open in Vancouver.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says the Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children will become a transition centre to help children with complex care needs.

Sunny Hill is to relocate to the main campus of the B.C. Children's and Women's Hospitals at the end of August as the third and final phase of its redevelopment.

Dix says the Vancouver transition centre will be the first facility in Canada providing a comprehensive range of supports at a single site for children with complex medical needs.

He says such care is often challenging for families and caregivers to provide from home, and the transition centre will serve as a stepping-stone between acute hospital care, community care and homes.

Dix says patients up to 19 years old and their families will be able to get access to health-care services ranging from assessment, examination and treatment to education, training and research.