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Dr. George Darby served the Methodist and United Church as Medical Superintendent of R.W. Large Memorial Hospital (Bella Bella, B.C.) from 1914 to 1959. Heiltsuk Chief Moody Humchitt bestowed the name Wo-Ya-La ("The Highest") on Darby in 1944. In 1959, Dr. Darby became the first Hospital Coordinator for all United Church hospitals in Canada. The new position was part time and reported to the Board of Home Missions at the General Council office in Toronto. Dr. Darby died suddenly in 1962.

R.W. Large Memorial Hospital, originally known as Bella Bella Hospital, is located in Bella Bella, British Columbia. The town of Bella Bella is located on Campbell Island, along the central coast of the province. The hospital serves residents of the town and the surrounding area, including the Heiltsuk Nation.

Medical missionary work first began in Bella Bella in the late 1890s when Dr. Albert Edward Bolton, alongside the Rev. Thomas Crosby, traveled along the coast providing medical services as part of the Methodist Church of Canada's missionary efforts. They often traveled on the mission ship Glad Tidings. During this time, Dr. Bolton established a medical mission in Bella Bella and a summer hospital at Rivers Inlet, to the southeast. Many medical staff would work both in Bella Bella and spend summers at the River Inlet Hospital in the coming years. In 1897, Dr. J.A. Jackson was sent by the Methodist Church to run the summer hospital at Rivers Inlet and the medical Mission at Bella Bella. Jackson died a year later and was replaced by Dr. Richard Whitfield Large. Dr. Large was given permanent charge of the Bella Bella medical mission in December of 1898. A full hospital was built by the end of 1902. A training school for nurses was opened in 1903 and remained open until 1935.

The original hospital burned down in the summer of 1904. A larger hospital was built and opened in 1906 to replace it. In 1910, Dr. Large was transferred to the missionary hospital at Port Simpson. The next permanent medical missionary doctor was George Darby, who arrived with his wife, Edna Darby, in 1914 and would serve in Bella Bella until 1959.
Responding to local needs, a new hospital was opened in 1918. It was renamed R.W. Large Memorial Hospital following Dr. Large's death in 1920. During this time, a hospital boat was also based out of Bella Bella. The hospital boat provided for quick access to remote sites and until the 1940s had a permanently assigned doctor working aboard for most of the year. The hospital boat remained in use well into the 1960s.

After the creation of The United Church of Canada in 1925, the Methodist missionary hospitals in Bella Bella and Rivers Inlet came under its authority. In 1929, the United Church officially decided to continue to operate the medical missions in places where it was difficult to establish municipal hospitals.

During the 1940s and 1950s, medical students worked for short periods of time in Bella Bella with Dr. Darby. In 1952, a second full-time physician joined the staff at R.W. Large Memorial Hospital. After Dr. Darby, several physicians worked at R.W. Large Memorial Hospital for long periods of time but recruitment became a challenge. To help with staffing, short-term physicians and locums were used. This also allowed specialists to come to Bella Bella to provide specialized medical care. A new hospital building was completed and opened 1973.

The United Church of Canada shifted control of health services over to the United Church Health Services Society in 2008. The Society continued to operate R.W. Large Memorial Hospital until 2014, when Vancouver Coastal Health took over full operation of the Hospital.

In 1959, Dr. George E. Darby became the first Hospital Coordinator for all of the United Church hospitals in Canada. Dr. Darby had just retired after forty-five years of service as the Medical Superintendent of the R.W. Large Memorial Hospital at Bella Bella. The Hospital Superintendent's position was part time, reporting to the Board of Home Missions at the General Council office in Toronto. Dr. Darby died suddenly in 1962, and was succeeded by Dr. W. Donald Watt, who had previously been the Superintendent of Bella Coola General Hospital. Watt's title was changed to "Superintendent of Hospitals and Medical Missionary Work,” and the position became full time. In 1972, the Board of Home Missions was incorporated into the new Division of Mission in Canada, to whom the Superintendent now reported.

In 1987, Dr. Watt retired and was succeeded by Dr. Peter J. Newbery. When Dr. Newbery took over the position, the title was changed to "Director of United Church Health Services.” In the late 1990s, oversight for the remaining United Church hospitals in British Columbia was moved to BC Conference, and the Director reported to the BC Conference Executive Secretary. Dr. Newbery remained as the Director until he was succeeded by Dr. Ray McIlwain in 2001. Dr. McIlwain had joined the R.W. Large Memorial Hospital in 1974, acting as its Administrator from 1979 to 1981 before becoming the Administrator at Bella Coola General Hospital. Dr. McIlwain stepped down as Director at the end of 2004. Dr. Newbery took up the role of Acting Director until November 2007 when Dr. David Arnold took over as Director. In 2008, the United Church Health Services incorporated into the United Church Health Services Society (UCHSS); the title of the position changed to "Medical Director”and reported to the UCHSS Board. In October 2011, Dr. Arnold stepped down as Medical Director. Thereafter the position was not filled; rather, each hospital in B.C. had its own medical director reporting to the UCHSS. In 2016, the Wrinch Memorial Hospital, the last of the United Church hospitals in B.C. was turned over to Vancouver Coastal Health.