Although the province would not confirm it this week, Sechelt (shíshálh) First Nation has announced that St. Mary’s Hospital will be renamed shíshálh or Sechelt Hospital.
The band’s cultural director, Candace Campo, announced the change last month while appearing on Chief Calvin Craigan’s Coast TV show, Voices of shíshálh.
“Our leadership has been in discussion with the leaders of the hospital and Vancouver Coastal Health, and in celebration of that shared history … as well as our people donating the land, the change in the name is going to be shíshálh Hospital or Sechelt Hospital,” Campo said.
The band, she added, intends to honour the St. Mary’s Hospital/Health Care Auxiliary for its contributions to the facility.
“It’s very important to the Sechelt people that we pay homage and we really recognize the people that have served the hospital, in particular St. Mary’s Auxiliary. So our people want to hold up and honour the auxiliary for the decades of amazing work they did in serving the Sunshine Coast.”
The show’s moderator, Michael Morgan, introduced the topic as “a monumental name change” for the hospital.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) spokeswoman Anna Marie D’Angelo said Tuesday that the provincial government had not confirmed a new name, but went on to say that several factors “influenced the potential name.”
In addition to the responses from the community during public consultations last year, D’Angelo said there was also “a leaning toward a geographic name because of safety,” as a geographically based name makes it easier for emergency services and visitors in need of medical care to locate the hospital.
“Also, if you have a geographical name, it links more closely to the community,” she said.
Another reason to change the name is “to address and respect historic concerns of the Sechelt Nation.”
Contacted later in the day, Ministry of Health spokeswoman Kristy Anderson said the ministry was still reviewing the proposal from VCH to rename St. Mary’s.
“VCH will have more details when the review is complete,” Anderson said.
St. Mary’s Hospital was built in 1962 on four and a half hectares donated by the Sechelt Indian Band.
Last year, VCH undertook public consultation on a possible name change for the facility, receiving input from 550 people.
The consultation was called after Sechelt Nation Coun. Garry Feschuk, who was chief at the time, called for VCH to change the hospital’s name in recognition of the band’s donation of the land and because St. Mary’s holds negative associations as the name of a residential school in Mission some band members had attended.
