St. Paul's Hospital St. Paul's was located in east Vancouver and operated primarily as an acute care, teaching, and research hospital. This hospital was the seventh-oldest within the province and was currently being transitioned to a new location due to capacity concerns. The hospital contained 400 beds and had approximately 4,000 employees. St. Paul's hosted a teaching centre with large lab facilities, which were mainly used for the University of BC's Faculty of Medicine program.? As a result, St. Paul's had been the sole testing lab for all COVID-19 cases in the VCHA. For testing, St. Paul's lab received vials from collection centres within the region. The virus was individually tested using commercialized COVID- 19 kits, as per Health Canada regulations. Although this model had proven somewhat successful in the short term, experts suggested that cases would continue to surge. It was likely that St. Paul's would be unable to meet capacity or have sufficient supplies to combat the backlog independently.

How was St. Paul's hospital positioned for april under the current system?

The Interior Health Authority Interior Health provided health care for almost one million residents in the Southern Interior, Okanagan, and Kootenay regions of BC. With a $2.3 billion budget (2019/20),19 Interior Health oversaw 16 community hospitals, two tertiary hospitals, 22 health care centres and four regional hospitals. 20 Interior Health had experienced steady growth in COVID-19 cases, peaking on March 25 and March 31, with 17 new cases. 21 The Northern Health Authority Northern Health oversaw health care for 300,000 residents within a 600,000 -kilometre region, including the cities of Dawson Creek, Haida Gwaii, and Prince Rupert. Northern Health was BC's smallest region. With a budget of $0.84 million (2019/20), it encompassed 18 hospitals, with the largest being the University Hospital of Northern BC. 22 Northern Health had experienced a low but stable number of COVID-19 cases, peaking on April 2, with four new cases. 23 The Vancouver Island Health Authority Island Health was responsible for 850,000 residents within a 56,000 -kilometre region on the island. This RHA operated within a $2.8 billion budget (2019/20) and oversaw operations for 150 hospitals and health centres, with the largest being the Royal Jubilee Hospital and Victoria General Hospital. 24 Island Health had experienced a fairly stable number of COVID-19 cases, peaking on March 18 and 19, with seven new cases. 25 THE VCHA AND HOSPITALS The VCHA oversaw all health operations in Vancouver, Richmond, the North Shore, and surrounding areas EXHIBIT 7: COLLECTION CENTRES EXHIBIT 8: TESTING PROCESS SUMMARY * 35 employees across all seven collection centres