Philanthropist donates $3.8M for health unit in DTES where she worked as a nurse in 1950s
CTV
Lily Lee's first contribution to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and Chinatown neighbourhoods was as a 21-year-old community nurse in the 1950s when she was fresh out of the University of British Columbia.
Lily Lee's first contribution to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and Chinatown neighbourhoods was as a 21-year-old community nurse in the 1950s when she was fresh out of the University of British Columbia.
Based in Strathcona, Lee administered inoculations, acted as a school nurse and served as a liaison between health and welfare, occasionally encountering “the odd person who has had too much to drink.”
Lee, 88, is now making a different kind of contribution - a personal donation of $3.8 million toward a community health unit that will serve both the Chinatown and Downtown Eastside communities.
The health centre under construction at 58 West Hastings St. will become a 50,000-square-foot integrated facility and is scheduled to open in the spring of 2024.
Vancouver Coastal Health, which will run the facility, said in a statement it would provide easy access to a broad spectrum of services, including for those in need of specialized mental health and addiction issues, home health and seniors care.
Lee, who made her donation through the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation last week, said her early experiences in the neighbourhood more than 65 years ago had stayed with her and she maintained “a soft spot” for its residents.
“I was a public health nurse in that area a long time ago, and I have a really strong feeling to help the people in that area,” she said.
