Occupational Medicine Clinic at Vancouver General Hospital, University of British Columbia Department of Medicine

 

Evaluating risks from chemical, physical and biological hazards in the workplace and environment, including asbestos; biomedical and health-related clinical trials; new pharmaceutical drugs and medical; behavioral and biotechnology treatment options.
Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) is the largest hospital in British Columbia and the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre group of medical facilities. VGH, a teaching hospital, is affiliated with the University of British Columbia. VGH houses a number of UBC Faculty of Medicine facilities at its Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre, including the Occupational Medicine Clinic (OMC). The health center serves 600,000 patients and is British Columbia’s first major health facility to be completed as a public-private partnership overseen by Vancouver Coastal Health and Access Health Vancouver. The facility has brought together 40 hospital clinics and programs, nine UBC Faculty of Medicine programs, 195 physician offices, and more than 1,000 staff, researchers and students. Health care professionals provide diagnostic testing, specialist visits and clinic visits. Due to this one location, patients receive more fully integrated and coordinated health care and are guaranteed a team-oriented approach to diagnosis, care and treatment. At the OMC, physicians specializing in occupational medicine provide care and consultation for community physicians, workers, WorkSafeBC and UBC faculty members. Directed by Dr. Sami Youakim, the clinic evaluates the risks emanating from chemical, physical or biological hazards in the workplace and environment, including asbestos, and provides guidance on looking after the occupational health and well-being of workers in British Columbia. The specialized Lung Centre at VGH provides outpatient assessment, diagnosis and treatment for adults diagnosed with pulmonary conditions. The center’s specialties include lung cancer, occupational and environmental lung diseases, and tuberculosis, among others. The Clinical Research Unit assists researchers who conduct biomedical or health-related human clinical trials. The unit collaborates with investigators from multiple health care specialties to provide services such as protocol development, study management and specimen collection. The Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute oversees a variety of research projects and assists investigators in multiple disciplines. These include burn and wound healing, diabetes, macular degeneration, ovarian and pancreatic cancer, and hematology. VCH researchers are studying everything from new pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices to behavioral and biotechnology treatment options.