Surrey is the fastest growing area within Fraser Health, and last week I had the privilege of visiting the site of the Surrey Memorial Hospital Expansion.  This expansion will mean a significant improvement to patient care, and complement the new Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre which officially opened on May 31, 2011.

The new eight-story tower will include 48 private rooms in the neonatal centre of excellence, with an adjacent pediatric pharmacy, 25 intensive care beds, two medical floors of 36 beds each, an expanded laboratory, rooftop helipad, and an additional 440 new parking stalls.

Once it is complete, employment at the hospital will increase by approximately 650 full-time positions, plus several dozen physicians.

As we move towards completion over the next two years, British Columbia’s health-care system will benefit from investments such as new medical equipment and modernized health facilities as part of a $1.9-billion health-sector capital plan. This is great news for Surrey and British Columbia and we strive to create jobs and put our B.C. families first.