As we say farewell to 2025 and usher in 2026, we’re looking back on the year that was and some of the biggest news stories involving Providence Health Care.
There were so many important Providence stories published on The Daily Scan in 2025, it was tough to pick just a handful of memorable headlines. In no particular order, and by no means a comprehensive list, here are some incredible highlights.
Canada’s first “tooth-in-eye” surgeries restore patients’ sight
It sounds like science fiction. Surgeons extract the tooth of a blind patient, glue a plastic lens in it, then sew the tooth into the patient’s eyeball to restore their sight. But it’s not. It’s a very real procedure called “tooth-in-eye” surgery that was performed, for the first time in Canada, at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in 2025. Ophthalmologist Dr. Greg Moloney (pictured above) and his team restored the vision of several individuals last year thanks to this highly specialized and rare surgery, which attracted plenty of national and international media attention.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
- See media coverage in The Vancouver Sun, Global News, CNN, People Magazine, and The Today Show (to name just a few!).
Researchers created living heart tissue with a 3D printer
It took three years of bioengineering, but scientists at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation at St. Paul’s Hospital successfully created living human heart tissue using a 3D printer in 2025. The custom-built 3D printer allows the research team to produce small pieces of heart muscle that behave like real human tissue. This technology has the potential to help doctors and scientists test new drugs and treatments faster and cheaper, and get results that better match real patient responses.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
- See media coverage on CTV News and The Hospital News.
The new St. Paul’s Hospital project moved on to the next phase
The journey to the new St. Paul’s Hospital reached another milestone in 2025 as visitors got one last look at the mock-up rooms before real rooms get built inside the new hospital. These full-scale models played a critical role in refining the hospital’s design, ensuring that every detail—from patient rooms to surgical suites—meets the highest standards of care and efficiency when the hospital opens in 2027.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
A Clinical Trials Unit opened at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital
2025 saw the opening of a new eight-bed Clinical Trials Unit at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital. The unit is the first of its kind in B.C. for non-cancer Phase 1 clinical trials. It will allow researchers to safely test new treatments on people for the first time, with full medical support. The unit also helps local companies keep their research here. That means more jobs and faster development of new medicines.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
- See media coverage in Business in Vancouver.
Hospital at Home expanded to better support DTES residents
Following a transformative first year of delivering acute care beyond hospital walls, the Hospital at Home program expanded to support Downtown Eastside residents. In 2025 Hospital at Home partnered with the Community Transition Care Team, a Vancouver Coastal Health initiative supported by the Portland Housing Society. This collaboration expands access to hospital-level care for Downtown Eastside residents who are unhoused or precariously housed.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
“Cool” new technology is offering a drug-free way to manage pain
Cryoneurolysis is a treatment that uses extreme cold to temporarily block the nerve signals that transmit pain. While the concept isn’t new, modern technology means doctors at St. Paul’s Hospital can now provide the treatment at the bedside using a handheld device. The device freezes pain right at its source, without using any drugs. This precision treatment has been a game changer for patients experiencing acute pain after surgery. It means shorter recoveries and fewer complications for patients, and significant savings for the health care system.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
- See media coverage on CTV News.
Construction began on the new St. Vincent’s: Heather care home
Construction work started on Providence’s new long-term care home at 33rd Avenue and Heather Street this past year. The 13-storey care home will welcome 240 residents when it opens in late 2028. St. Vincent’s: Heather reflects Providence’s commitment to the Home for Us model—an approach to seniors care that replaces institutional routines with meaningful relationships, personal choice and spaces that feel familiar.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
Researchers uncovered the cause of lung long COVID
Researchers at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation at St. Paul’s Hospital identified inflammation in the lungs’ smallest airways as the cause of pulmonary long COVID. The team used a specialized MRI and single-cell sequencing of lung samples to uncover the underlying mechanism behind persistent respiratory symptoms in long COVID patients.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
A Providence employee marked 50 years of service
Dietary Aide Peter D’amico marked his 50th work anniversary with Providence Health Care in 2025. It’s a career milestone that few reach, and even fewer with the same warmth, humility, and joy that Peter brings to work every day. Peter was celebrated, along with other Providence staff who reached long-service milestones, in the spring.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
A new memory clinic opened at St. Paul’s Hospital
Thanks to donor support to the St. Paul’s Foundation, the new Early Intervention Memory Clinic opened at St. Paul’s Hospital this past year and started accepting referrals. The clinic team – which includes geriatricians and occupational therapists – sees patients as soon as they start to notice changes in their memory and thinking. Looking ahead, the clinic is expected to be an integral part of the Shinozaki Family Centre for Healthy Aging, slated to open with the new St. Paul’s Hospital in 2027.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
Providence was awarded for social procurement initiatives
In spring 2025, Providence was honoured by Buy Social Canada for integrating social value into purchasing decisions and supporting the social procurement and social enterprise ecosystems in Canada. The award recognizes Providence’s partnership with local social enterprise, the Binners’ Project, to improve waste management and create inclusive employment, as well as social procurement on the new St. Paul’s Hospital project.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
Project uses corneal imaging to improve Alzheimer’s diagnostics
Current diagnostic tools for Alzheimer’s disease rely heavily on invasive brain imaging and tests, which are not universally accessible. In contrast, the eyes offer a unique and readily available alternative for imaging. Providence’s Department of Ophthalmology launched a new project this past year that hopes to use corneal imaging to detect biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease early, allowing for more timely care and potentially slowing disease progression.
- Read the story in The Daily Scan.
Transfusion patients can now get blood tests closer to home
Patients with transfusion-dependent blood disorders, like thalassemia, need regular transfusions to survive, requiring a pre-transfusion blood test each time. Travelling to St. Paul’s Hospital for these frequent tests can be an unnecessary burden for some. In 2025, the hospital partnered with LifeLabs and Fraser Health to establish community collection sites where patients can have their pre-transfusion blood work done closer to home.
- Read the full story in The Daily Scan.
We look forward to bringing you more great stories in 2026, highlighting amazing people and patients, and all the incredible work that happens at Providence Health Care sites each and every day of the year.
Compiled by Christine Lyon
