The Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health (CEWH, formerly the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health) has its roots in 1995 when a consortium of women’s organizations, universities, and health care providers, led by BC Women’s Hospital, presented a plan for an integrated health and research centre to Health Canada’s Women’s Health Contribution Program. The vision of the CEWH was that of “Closing the Loop” between research, policy, and care.

After receiving funding from Health Canada’s Women’s Health Contribution Program in 1996, the CEWH opened at BC Women’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC, with a second office at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George.  The Northern Secretariat focused on remote and rural women’s health. In March 2001, the Northern Secretariat became independent as Northern FIRE: The Centre for Women’s Health Research at UNBC.

Since our inception, we have completed over 450 research and knowledge translation projects with funding from local, national and international research funding agencies, as well as numerous government departments and agencies. We are an independent, non-profit organization hosted by BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre, a part of the Provincial Health Services Authority. Our early history is covered in detail in 2 reports, prepared at the 5-year and 10-year points: