What does it take to build a healthier future?
That question was at the heart of the Mayor’s Forum on Health Care and Innovation in Surrey, where leaders from health care, academia, industry, government and community organizations came together to explore how innovation and collaboration can strengthen care for one of Canada’s fastest-growing and most diverse cities.
While discussions ranged from primary care access and artificial intelligence to clinical research and medical education, one message emerged consistently throughout the day: meaningful health care transformation happens when organizations work together.
The forum explored several key themes shaping the future of health care in Surrey. Jump to a topic below or continue reading for a complete recap.
- Building an Ecosystem, Not Individual Solutions
- Why Research and Clinical Trials Matter
- Innovation Beyond Technology
- From “Why Surrey?” to “How Do We Plug Into Surrey?”
Building an Ecosystem, Not Individual Solutions
Innovation does not happen in isolation.
Throughout the forum, speakers emphasized that meaningful progress depends on strong partnerships between health care providers, researchers, post-secondary institutions, technology companies, government, philanthropy and community organizations. Whether discussing artificial intelligence, genomics, specialty pharmacy or medical education, the message remained the same: no single organization can solve today’s health care challenges alone.
As Surrey Hospitals Foundation President & CEO Nicole Robson shared during the discussion, philanthropy has a unique role to play in bringing partners together, accelerating innovation and empowering communities to invest in the future of health care.
That commitment extends beyond funding individual projects. Earlier this year, Surrey Hospitals Foundation launched the Surrey Hospitals Health & Research Network (SH Network) to connect clinicians, researchers, health care partners and innovators, creating new opportunities to leverage philanthropy, remove duplication, advance research, strengthen collaboration and improve care across Surrey’s growing ecosystem of care.
That collaborative spirit was echoed by Lark Group’s Kirk Fisher, who described Surrey’s success as the result of an intentionally connected ecosystem where health care, education, industry, government, and community partners work together to create opportunities that would not be possible alone.
Why Research and Clinical Trials Matter
One of the strongest themes throughout the forum was that research is not separate from patient care. It is how health care continues to evolve.
Panellists highlighted how research and clinical trials accelerate innovation by bringing new diagnostics, therapies, technologies and models of care closer to patients. They also reinforced that research depends on strong partnerships, sustainable funding and opportunities for health care providers, researchers, academic institutions and industry to collaborate.
Andrea Wharram, Chief Business Officer at mlHealth360, spoke about Surrey’s unique opportunity to advance artificial intelligence in health care, noting that the city’s diverse population and high patient volumes create an ideal environment for developing AI solutions that better reflect the communities they are designed to serve.
Dr. Paul Adams, Director of KPU’s Applied Genomics Centre, reinforced that accessible research infrastructure, funding and collaboration are essential to helping organizations translate discovery into real-world health care solutions. Together, these partnerships help ensure promising ideas move from the lab into clinical practice, improving care for patients across our region.
Innovation Beyond Technology
Innovation is about more than new technology. It is also about reimagining how health care is delivered and how future health care professionals are trained.
Amanda LaBoucane, Vice President, Indigenous Health & Food Services at Fraser Health, emphasized that health care begins in communities. Improving health means looking beyond hospital walls and addressing the broader factors that influence wellbeing, including housing, education, cultural safety, food security and social supports.
That same philosophy is shaping the future of medical education in Surrey. This August, the inaugural class of students will begin their studies at the SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine, where clinical training is intentionally centred in community settings. As Founding Dean Dr. David Price shared, students will spend approximately 70 to 80 per cent of their clinical education learning alongside family physicians, specialists and interdisciplinary health care teams in the community.
By training physicians where people live and receive care, Surrey is helping build a health care workforce that is collaborative, community-focused and better prepared to meet the needs of one of Canada’s fastest-growing and most diverse regions.
From “Why Surrey?” to “How Do We Plug Into Surrey?”
Closing the forum, Dr. Ryan D’Arcy, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of HealthTech Connex, challenged attendees to rethink Surrey’s role in health care innovation. Rather than asking “Why Surrey?” he argued that the conversation has shifted to “How do we plug into Surrey?” as communities around the world look to Surrey’s collaborative model for inspiration.
His message reflected more than a decade of intentional investment in research, innovation and partnership. In 2013, with the support of Surrey Hospitals Foundation, Simon Fraser University established the BC Leadership Chair in Multimodal Technology for Health Care Innovation, recruiting Dr. D’Arcy to Surrey to advance brain health research and accelerate health care innovation. That investment helped lay the foundation for many of the collaborations and innovations that continue to shape Surrey’s health innovation ecosystem today.
Building the Future, Together
The Mayor’s Forum reinforced what many across our region already know: the future of health care will be built through collaboration.
Through philanthropy, Surrey Hospitals Foundation helps strengthen Surrey’s ecosystem of care by investing in research, innovation, education, technology and the partnerships that make them possible. Together with our donors and partners, we are helping build a health care system that is more connected, more innovative and better prepared to meet the needs of our growing community.
Because building the future of health care is not the work of one organization.
It’s something we build together.
Connect with us
If you want to learn how to support, contact our Chief Development Officer, Maria Faccio at maria.faccio@fraserhealth.ca.
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