The Future Starts Here
Langley Community Health & Hospital Foundation has launched an ambitious $25 million fundraising campaign to equip Langley Memorial Hospital with the modern medical equipment it needs to meet the demands of one of BC’s fastest-growing communities.
Launching on May 8, just ahead of Mother’s Day, the Future of Health Care campaign will fund a major upgrade to the hospital’s mammography clinic to give women faster access to breast cancer screening, earlier diagnosis and care close to home.
“Langley Memorial Hospital is caring for a population 10 times the size it was built to serve,” says Foundation executive director Heather Scott. “Langley physicians, nurses and care teams bring extraordinary skill and compassion to their work, but aging equipment and rising demand are stretching care beyond its limits. This campaign is about catching up - and ensuring Langley families receive the timely, high-quality care they deserve.”
A Community Growing Faster Than Its Hospital
Langley Memorial Hospital was built in 1965 to serve just 20,000 residents. Today, even with additional services and an expanded Emergency Department which opened in 2021, Langley Memorial Hospital is operating 30 per cent over capacity on a regular basis. Meanwhile, admissions, inpatient days and births have risen sharply in recent years. Diagnostic and surgical equipment are in use daily, but they’ve aged beyond their expected lifespan. Technology gaps and capacity challenges are leading to delays, cancellations and patients needing to travel outside their community for care.
Several Fraser Valley communities are facing this issue.
Fraser Health represents 40 per cent of BC’s population but sees just 22 per cent of provincial health care funding. With only 1.1 hospital beds per 1,000 people, Langley Memorial Hospital has one of the lowest capacities in the province, well below the Canadian average of 2.5 beds per 1,000.
“Without action from the Foundation and our caring donors, critical care in Langley will fall further behind,” explains Scott. “Langley residents deserve the best, and this is our moment to come together to protect and build the care our community needs.”
While public funding supports day-to-day hospital operations, philanthropy plays a critical role in funding advanced medical equipment and technology. The $25 million campaign will help modernize tools across the hospital, from diagnostics and surgery to emergency, maternity, long-term care and community health services.
First Focus: Breast Health
The campaign’s first project, launching in time for Mother’s Day, will raise $2.1 million to upgrade the mammography clinic at Langley Memorial Hospital. Funds will support the installation of new, state-of-the-art mammography technology, expand diagnostic imaging capacity and improve the clinic environment.
Each year, an average 4,000 people in British Columbia are diagnosed with breast cancer; 9,000 women in our region will rely on Langley Memorial Hospital for critical screening and diagnosis.
“Early detection saves lives,” said Chris Ruscheinski, Foundation board member and key fundraising partner for this initiative through his Twins Cancer Fundraising event Jamestown, taking place on July 11. “My brother Jamie and I started Twins Cancer Fundraising after losing our mother to breast cancer as teenagers. We didn’t want other families to go through what ours did. Funding new equipment with advanced technology will have a profound impact on Langley families. Shorter wait times and clear, fast diagnosis will translate to less anxiety for patients and families. For many, it could mean detecting cancer earlier, when outcomes are better and treatment options broader.”
A Time to Act Together
Donor support will replace an aging mammography machine with a new state-of-the-art system that integrates tomosynthesis, also known as 3D mammography, for clearer images with lower radiation doses.
This new equipment allows Langley Memorial to provide both screening and diagnostic mammography in one place for the first time and improve access for more Langley residents. For women who are anxious about their breast health, that means faster answers, fewer delays and care that stays close to home.
Donations will also add three operating room tables for mastectomy and reconstruction surgery, pharmacy equipment for medication support, lab equipment and a CT contrast injector to help doctors better see tumours.
To donate to our Breast Health campaign, part of our Future of Health Care campaign to close a $25 million funding gap and open the door to better health care in Langley, visit LCHHFoundation.com/future.