The Ridge Meadows Hospital is officially a senior citizen as it celebrates its 65th anniversary this year.
Throughout its long history of serving the community, the hospital has managed to more than quintuple its capacity from its humble roots.
Although it first opened in 1958, the journey to get a local hospital began much earlier.
For many decades, citizens of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows were forced to travel to the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster in order to fulfill their healthcare needs.
Due to this inconvenient journey across the Pitt River, many residents began asking for a local health facility to be built in 1935.
However, a series of historic events led to the project being postponed time and time again. After going through the Great Depression and the Second World War, the community was able to able to establish its first hospital foundation in 1947.
Arguments over how to pay for the new facility shut down planning for a few years until another referendum was held in 1954, where the hospital plans were overwhelmingly approved.
Finally, on March 1, 1958, the hospital officially opened its doors to the public. But at the time, it was known as the Maple Ridge Hospital and wouldn’t become the Ridge Meadows Hospital until decades later.
At the time it first opened, the hospital had 63 beds, and has since expanded to 172 acute care beds, 10 hospice beds, and 148 residential care beds.
Carrie Stefanson, senior public affairs consultant for Fraser Health, explained that the hospital is also now serving more people than ever before, and is incredibly vital to the communities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
In the past year, the hospital received 46,501 emergency visits, delivered 741 babies, handled 10,270 surgical cases, and treated 7,859 inpatient cases.
“Seventy-eight per cent of patients who accessed care at Ridge Meadows Hospital in 2022/2023 were from Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows,” said Stefanson.
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The hospital also looks much different from the original building, both inside and out.
“Ridge Meadows Hospital has undergone several renovations and upgrades to meet the needs of this growing community,” said Stefanson.
“Included in the upgrades is the addition of the hospital’s first MRI suite. Patients in Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and neighbouring communities are benefiting from increased access to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams and shorter wait times.”
The MRI suite first opened in November of 2020, and has since helped many people get brain abnormalities diagnosed early so they can seek the proper treatment.
Other upgrades and improvements continue to happen at the hospital each year, explained Stefanson.
“The hospital is undergoing an expansion of the medical device reprocessing department, and enhancements to the operating room mechanical systems,” she said.
“These renovations will support safe and efficient acute care for hospital patients.”
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But there is a certain element of the hospital that has remained the same since day one, explained Ridge Meadows Hospital executive director Rich Dillon.
“Although the years pass by quickly and we change and innovate to deliver the best in health care, some things remain constant – our commitment to caring for our patients, clients and residents in the Maple Ridge community,” said Dillon.
“I would like to thank all staff, medical staff, volunteers, our foundation, and auxiliary and community partners for all they do to contribute to this culture of care.”
