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Vancouver General Hospital to Lead World for Research and Treatment to Heal Burns and Wounds
NEWS RELEASE FOR RELEASE -
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Media Contact: Margo Bates
Telephone: 604-536-9501
E-Mail: pr@burnfund.org
Vancouver General Hospital to Lead World for Research and Treatment to Heal Burns and Wounds: New Research Laboratory Funded by BC’s Professional Fire Fighters
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver General Hospital is poised to lead the world in burn and wound healing with the arrival of an acknowledged world-leader in the treatment of burns and wounds and the opening of a new donor-funded research lab at VGH.
The BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn & Wound Healing Research Laboratory at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) officially opens today. Dr. Aziz Ghahary, a world renowned leader in the treatment of burns and wounds, will head the research laboratory. He joins the medical team at the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn & Plastic Surgery Unit. The unit provides care for burn and trauma patients across B.C. and the Yukon.
Dr. Ghahary and his team have discovered communication among different types of cells in the skin is crucial to successful healing. They have isolated a protein that is key to the communication. This discovery is essential to learning how to prevent formation of scar tissue after a burn, as well as understanding why other wounds fail to heal.
“Among the many hospitals around the world, VGH and Vancouver Coastal Health offer the best opportunity to build on the body of research accomplished to date, and I firmly believe we are on the brink of remarkable new treatment options for patients with wounds or burns,” says Dr. Ghahary. “I am so grateful for the donor support we have received to help open the new lab. As we move forward, ongoing support for the program will ensure we can continue to translate new discoveries into better patient care for people in British Columbia.”
Dr. Ghahary’s recruitment to Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute is a major development for Vancouver Coastal Health, VGH and patients. At the new BC Professional Fire Fighters Burn & Wound Healing Lab at VGH, Dr. Ghahary will be developing a shelf-ready topical cream containing the purified protein, as well as an actual skin substitute that can be applied to burns and wounds to allow the skin to heal properly. The result will be significantly less scarring from burns and improved healing of wounds.
“It’s a coup to bring Dr. Ghahary to VGH, Vancouver Coastal Health and UBC. We’ve been working to bring Dr. Ghahary here for over two years,” says Dr. Bernie Bressler, executive director of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and vice president, Research, at Vancouver Coastal Health. “His research has tremendous applications to the ongoing care of burn survivors as well as the many patients who need wound care management, including diabetics. In addition, Dr. Ghahary will be supervising and training graduate and post graduate students, who are the next generation of researchers. This recruitment reinforces Vancouver Coastal Health’s reputation as a research and teaching health authority that focuses on bench to bedside
care,” says Bressler.
“The opening of the BCPFF Burn & Wound Healing Research Laboratory shows the power of what can be achieved when Fire Fighters, medical caregivers, and the community work in partnership,” says Dr. Nicholas Carr, head of the Division of Plastic Surgery, UBC. “The Lab has the potential to bring to this community the most significant advances ever achieved in the care of burn injured and scarred patients. I am tremendously optimistic that with Dr. Ghahary's Lab, Vancouver will emerge as an important international leader in burn care.”
“Fundamental and applied research is a critical component of our overall health care system,” says Dr. Gavin Stuart, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at UBC. “Health discoveries of British Columbia, such as that by Dr. Ghahary, leads to new treatment options, enhanced health and leading-edge care for people right across the province. Research conducted in our laboratories leads to improved bedside care. This high profile recruitment reinforces UBC’s profile as a world-class research University.”
To recognize the partnership between the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation and the Burn Fund, the research facility will bear the name ‘BC Professional Fire Fighters’ in honour of the Burn Fund’s significant contribution and long-term relationship with VGH.
The equipment is funded by a $400 thousand gift from the Burn Fund. VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, in partnership with the Burn Fund, are also committed to raise $3 million towards the program for Burn and Wound Healing.
“Today’s announcement is further proof that support from our donors helps to build momentum to attract and retain world-class health care professionals to care for patients,” says Ron Dumouchelle, President and CEO, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation.
“We need to continue to build on the momentum we have achieved to raise additional funds to advance world-class health care for people in British Columbia.”
“BC’s 3,300 Professional Fire Fighters take great pride in our more than twenty-five year partnership with VGH Hospital,” says Al Leier, president of the BCPFF Burn Fund. “The work Dr. Ghahary and his team will do is an opportunity for the future, and the care of all burn survivors and those who are injured or suffer scars. We pledge a lifelong commitment to B.C.’s burn survivors and to the partnership with VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation and the BCPFF Burn Unit. We look forward to working to raise additional funds to help support the BCPFF Burn & Wound Healing Research Laboratory, which is another example of the Burn Fund’s legacy to our province’s citizens.”
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) is the research body of Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which includes BC’s largest academic and teaching health sciences centres: VGH, UBC Hospital, and GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre. In academic partnership with the University of British Columbia, VCHRI brings innovation and discovery to patient care, advancing healthier lives in healthy communities across British Columbia, Canada, and beyond.
UBC's Faculty of Medicine - B.C.'s medical school - celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2000 and currently graduates 224 students annually from a four-year program. Faculty researchers attracted almost $159 million in funding in 2004/2005.
VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation is a registered charity that raises vital funding for life-saving equipment, world-class research and improvements to patient care for Vancouver General Hospital, UBC Hospital and GF Strong Rehab Centre. For 25 years, the Foundation has been the bridge between the essential health care governments provide and the most advanced health care possible.
The BCPFF Burn Fund is a registered non-profit charity established in 1978 by the BC Professional Fire Fighters Association. The Burn Fund provides life saving, life supporting, and life enriching services to the people in British Columbia. More than 3,300 professional fire fighters around the province are building the Burn Fund’s vision. They dedicate their time and skills to support burn survivors and increase the public’s knowledge about fire and burn safety issues through the work the Burn Fund does with its Burn Awareness, Research and Prevention Programs.
The BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn & Wound Healing Laboratory is located in the Jack Bell Research Centre at Vancouver General Hospital. For more information on Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, the laboratory, and the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn & Plastic Surgery Unit, please visit www.woundtowellness.com or www.burnfund.org.
Media Contact: Margo Bates Publicity Inc., Vancouver
Telephone: 604-533-9501 or
E-mail pr@burnfund.org
COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENTS:
For VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation:
Jon Hicke, Director, Marketing & Communications - Telephone: 604-875-5196
For Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute:
Lisa Carver, Communications - Telephone: 604-319-7533
For UBC Public Affairs:
Hilary Thomson, Senior Communications Coordinator –Telephone: 604.822.2644
For BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund
Margo Bates Publicity Inc. – Telephone: 604-536-9501
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