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The heart and the lungs cannot be separated;
likewise neither can the history of cardiovascular and
pulmonary care and research at St. Paul’s hospital.
 In
the early 1960s, Drs. Harold Rice and Bill Young set up
the lung function laboratory at St. Paul’s based
on the model developed by Dr. David Bates. The lab at
St. Paul’s had equipment to provide measurements
of lung volume, flow rates, mixing efficiency and a steady-state
end-tidal diffusing capacity. Young joined the staff at
St. Paul's in 1963 to provide a full pulmonary consultation
service and was able to secure several research grants
from the Department of Defense. In 1971 Young left St.
Paul’s to return to New Zealand. With support from
the B.C. Lung Association, St. Paul’s was able to
hire Drs. Graeme Copland and Richard Donevan to take over
the respiratory unit. As Dr. Dwight Peretz said in a speech
to the BC Lung Association, “The arrival of Dr.
Graeme Copland and Dr. Dick Donevan [opened] an era of
unprecedented [respiratory] research and treatment in
B.C.”
 Under
Copland and Donevan and their successors, respiratory
care at St. Paul’s has developed into a major area
and has gained an excellent reputation. The division has
grown to include the adult cystic fibrosis clinic and
has also developed an expertise in the treatment of the
respiratory complications of HIV/AIDS. With the addition
of pulmonary research in 1977, St. Paul’s began
a new era that including groundbreaking new discoveries
but has always kept patient care at the fore.
To read more about the history of respiratory
care at St. Paul’s download the printable
pdf version of Spirt of Discovery
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