Tuesday March 31, 2026 | VANCOUVER, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
A new Urgent and Primary Care Centre (UPCC) opens today Tuesday March 31 on the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver.
The facility at 6165 Agronomy Road in the heart of the UBC campus will offer year-round daily health-care access for people on campus and in surrounding communities.
The UBC UPCC has the capacity for about 58,000 patient visits annually, said BC Health a news release yesterday. It is intended to complement other health-care services available in the area including UBC Hospital and UBC Student Health Services.
This is the eighth UPCC operated by Vancouver Coastal Health (see UPCC locations in Vancouver Coastal Health) and 47th in the province. | See: Urgent Primary Care Centres (BC Govt page)
Services:
The centre aims to provide urgent and episodic care within 12-24 hours including things like sprains, minor infections, burns, headaches or ear aches, and cuts requiring stitches.
The delivery model is team-based which connects people to urgent primary care.
The UPCC is co-located with medical imaging services for services like X-rays.
“Timely, accessible care is essential for people, and this UPCC at UBC will improve access to team-based services while helping ease pressure on emergency departments,” says BC Health Minister Josie Osborne.
Clinic hours:
The new UBC UPCC will be open daily:
- 8 am to 10 pm Monday to Saturday,
- 9 am to 5 pm on Sundays and statutory holidays
Team-based care:
The UBC UPCC provides care through an interdisciplinary team-based model that brings together physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and allied health professionals.
About 15 full-time equivalent (FTE) clinical staff will get the centre started. At full capacity the 19.56 FTE clinical staff will be supported with 9.95 FTE non-clinical staff.
“Our integrated, team-based clinicians and staff are ready to welcome patients to the new UBC Urgent and Primary Care Centre,” said Vivian Eliopoulos, President and CEO, Vancouver Coastal Health.
“This centre strengthens our commitment to accessible, safe and timely care for the UBC community and surrounding neighbourhoods. As a learning hub, it will also support the development of future health-care professionals while ensuring people receive high-quality urgent and primary care when they need it,” says Eliopoulos.
The UPCC is designed to meet a variety of health-care needs, including diagnosing and treating new or urgent health problems, connecting people to more specialized services and supporting people to self-manage chronic health conditions. Care is delivered primarily through in-person visits, with virtual care provided as needed.
Funding:
The Ministry of Health, with Vancouver Coastal Health has approved more than $6 million in annual operating costs for the UBC UPCC as well as one-time amounts of $330,000 for startup costs.
The total capital cost is approximately $17.6 million, funded jointly by the Province and Vancouver Coastal Health.
Eby’s riding:
“Because of this centre, more students, staff and residents at UBC will be able to access the urgent, same-day health care they need, when they need it,” said Premier David Eby in yesterday’s news release.
“This centre is a part of our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to primary care in their community,” said Eby, whose home riding is Vancouver-Point Grey which includes the UBC campus.
UPCCs:
The Province says it is committed to providing timely, high-quality care when and where people need it.
The UBC UPCC is a key part of BC’s stated plan to strengthen primary care, improve access to same-day urgent and primary care, connect people to coordinated, team-based services in their community and ease pressure on hospital emergency departments.
===== RELATED:
NEWS SECTIONS: URGENT & PRIMARY CARE CENTRES | ISLAND HEALTH