Surrey Hospitals Health & Research Network

Closing the Research Funding Gap for Surrey’s Rapidly Growing Health System

The Challenge

Surrey is one of Canada’s fastest-growing and most diverse cities, home to over 730,000 residents today and projected to be the largest in our province. Yet its research and innovation ecosystem has not kept pace with its clinical growth.

  • Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) is the only Emergency Department in the city, managing more than 180,000+ visits annually – well beyond capacity.
  • Despite serving one in ten British Columbians, Surrey lacks dedicated research funding to attract top medical talent, accelerate innovation, and translate discoveries into clinical care.
  • Without a research and innovation framework, Surrey risks losing skilled clinicians and scientists to regions with stronger academic health partnerships.

The Opportunity

The establishment of Simon Fraser University’s new School of Medicine and UBC bringing a campus to Surrey presents an unprecedented opportunity to build Surrey’s research and training ecosystem. To realize its potential, Surrey must invest in a coordinated network that integrates care, education, and discovery – ensuring that the next generation of health professionals trained in Surrey choose to stay in Surrey.

The Surrey Hospitals Foundation (SHF) is developing the Surrey Hospitals Health & Research Network (SH Network) — a coordinated funding and partnership framework that ensures investment, innovation, and research excellence stay in Surrey and strengthen care across Surrey Memorial Hospital, the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care & Surgery Centre, the Czorny Alzheimer Centre, and the new Surrey Hospital & BC Cancer Centre.

Through the SH Network, Surrey Hospitals Foundations will:

  • Align philanthropic, government, and academic investments around shared health priorities.
  • Support clinical research, innovation pilots, and data-driven models of care.
  • Create training and mentorship pathways linked to Surrey’s hospitals.
  • Build a sustainable model where every dollar invested locally strengthens care locally and provincially.

A Proven Model Across Canada

Hospital foundations across Canada, including UHN Foundation (Toronto), VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation (Vancouver), Calgary Health Foundation, Ottawa Hospital Foundation, and MUHC Foundation (Montreal), already fund and manage large-scale research programs. These models combine government, donor, and academic support to drive innovation, attract top talent, and translate discoveries directly to patient care. Surrey remains the only major urban health region in B.C. without a coordinated, foundation-led research framework. SH Network will close that gap, ensuring Surrey’s research investment stays in Surrey but impacts our province.

Why It Matters

Research and innovation are essential to attract, retain, and train the skilled professionals needed to deliver high-quality care.

  • “A positive research culture in health services is associated with lower patient mortality rates, reduced staff turnover, improved staff satisfaction and greater organisational efficiency.” (PubMed, 2016)
  • “Embedding research in Canadian community hospitals has been shown to improve patient outcomes, enhance staff satisfaction and retention, and increase research efficiency and generalisability of results.” (Health Policy and Systems, 2024)
  • “Hospitals and health‑services organisations that engage in research are more attractive to clinicians and scientists because they provide innovation opportunities, professional growth and stronger organisational performance.” (PubMed, 2023)
  • “Institutional culture of belonging — including opportunities for research engagement and career development — is strongly associated with lower attrition among women health care professionals.” (PubMed, 2023)
  • “Including diverse populations in health research ensures findings are relevant and equitable — enabling health‑systems to identify and address disparities across race, language, immigration status and geography.” (Riley et al., 2024)

By embedding research in Surrey’s growing hospital network, The Network ensures that every investment in new facilities is matched by investment in the people and ideas that drive excellence in care.

Our Priorities

  1. Position Surrey as a Leader in Urban Health Innovation
    • Build a research funding platform that aligns with the Province’s workforce strategies.
  2. Accelerate Access to Innovation
    • Integrate proven research and technologies into care faster.
  3. Grow Research Capacity Through Collaboration
    • Partner with SFU, UBC, and national agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR) to attract new funding and expand research capacity.

Conclusion

Surrey Hospitals Foundation is taking proactive leadership to close Surrey’s research and innovation gap. This platform will catalyze matching funds, attract top-tier health professionals, and establish a sustainable model that keeps innovation, expertise, and impact right here in Surrey.

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