University of British Columbia. Health Sciences Centre

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

University of British Columbia. Health Sciences Centre

Parallel form(s) of name

    Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

      Other form(s) of name

        Identifiers for corporate bodies

        Description area

        Dates of existence

        1961-

        History

        The origins of the Office of the Co-ordinator of Health Sciences date back to the early years of the Faculty of Medicine which was established at the University of British Columbia in 1950. Instruction was carried out on campus and clinical courses were taught at a number of the city's hospitals. The 1950s were growth years for the faulty as staff members were assembled. In 1959 a new team was appointed and the faculty and the Board of Governors granted permission to the Faculty of Medicine to proceed with planning for a university Hospital. With grants received by the Rockefeller and Markle Foundations, the faculty members launched a study to investigate health care delivery and medical education in the Western World with the intention of applying the findings to the UBC situation. The study lead to a broadening of scope from a teaching hospital to the idea of a Health Sciences Centre where all members of the health team would receive their education from the same teachers, in the same classrooms, working on the same patients, for the purpose of merging the various professions into a more effective working unit. In 1961 the Provincial Government approved the Health Sciences Centre concept and accepted the plan to build a hospital at a later date; but the financial arrangements were not clarified at this time. A grant from the Leverhulme trust enabled the first Co-ordinating Committee to be established in 1961. The committee realized that the B.C. Hospitals Act (1960) would require additional legislation if a teaching hospital was to be established. The University required a larger representation on the administration board of the hospital if the educational function was to be successfully carried out. In 1963 the Provincial Legislature passed the University of British Columbia Health Sciences Act.
        The Co-ordinating Committee remained an informal organization until 1967, when the President of the University established a temporary committee known as the Curtis Committee to study the administrative structure of the Health Sciences Centre. In 1969 the Curtis Committee issued the Report of the president's Temporary Committee, "Administrative Structures of the Health Sciences Centre, University of British Columbia". The report respected the earlier recommendation that the health team concept be implemented and called for the establishment of an office of the Coordinator of Health Sciences and of a Co-ordinating Committee. The Co-ordinator of Health Sciences was to be the Chairman of the Co-ordinating Committee as well as serving on a number of committees of the university including the board which administered the hospital. The Co-ordinator's function was the same as the Coordinating Committee's with the additional responsibility of acting as the spokesman for the Management Committee, the President and the Senate. The Co-ordinator and the Co-ordinating Committee of Health Sciences would report to the Management Committee and the President and ultimately to the Board of Governors. In 1970 the Board of Governors approved the administrative structure and in the following year the Co-ordinating Committee was formalized. The title of Interim Director was changed to Co-ordinator of Health Sciences. Six divisions were established under the umbrella of the Office of the Co-ordinator: Continuing Education, Health Services Research and Development, Interprofessional Education, Hospital Administration, Business Administration, and Health Systems.
        During the 1960s and 1970s the Co-ordinating Committee and the office of the coordinator were involved in the planning and the construction of the Health Sciences Centre facilities. Funding was provided by the Provincial Government, the Health Resources Fund (1966) of the Federal Government and donations from various private foundations. In 1959 work began on three permanent Basic Medical Science Buildings which were later developed into a health sciences complex. In 1964 Woodward Library was built, with additions made in 1970. In 1966 construction began on the Psychiatric Unit which was completed in 1969. The Dentistry building was built in 1966, the Instructional Resources Centre in 1972, The Extended Health Care Unit in 1979 and the final Acute Care Unit was opened in 1980.
        The position of the Co-ordinator of Health Sciences has been held by several individuals. Dr. J.F. McCreary was the first co-ordinator, appointed Interim Director in 1967. In 1970, this position was formalized as the Co-ordinator of Health Sciences. In the period from 1959 to 1972, McCreary also served as the Dean of Medicine for the UBC. He was replaced upon his retirement in 1975 with Dr. Harold Copp, who served as Acting Co-ordinator between 1975 and 1977. Dr. B.E. Riedel took over in 1977, and remained Co-ordinator until 1985. In that year Dr. Larkin served as Acting Co-ordinator for six months until the present Co-ordinator, Dr. Low, assumed his position. Lloyd Detwiller was also a significant figure in the functioning of the Health Sciences Centre, acting as Consultant-Administrator from 1962 until 1972, when his position was changed to that of Administrator. Detwiller retired in 1983.

        Places

        Legal status

        Functions, occupations and activities

        Mandates/sources of authority

        Internal structures/genealogy

        General context

        Relationships area

        Access points area

        Subject access points

        Place access points

        Occupations

        Control area

        Authority record identifier

        University of British Columbia

        Institution identifier

        Rules and/or conventions used

        Status

        Level of detail

        Dates of creation, revision and deletion

        Language(s)

          Script(s)

            Sources

            Maintenance notes