The University of British Columbia’s board of governors on June 8 approved a 15-bed hospice on its west side Vancouver campus near a highrise condominium where many residents opposed building the facility for the dying.
The approval comes a week after the board of governors’ planning committee gave the project its blessing.
The $10 million project is a joint venture between UBC’s faculty of medicine and the Order of St. John and would be operated by Vancouver Coastal Health.
Many of the residents are Chinese and told board members in public hearings that it is bad luck to live near the dying.
UBC spokesman Stephen Owen told media that the best place for the hospice would be integrated into the community.
Glen Korstrom
Twitter: Glen Korstrom