Philanthropist and founder and CEO of Mattamy Homes Peter Gilgan at an event announcing his $40-million donation to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto Mar. 7, 2012.Moe Doiron/The Globe and Mail
Mattamy Homes Ltd. founder Peter Gilgan is donating $30-million to build a new critical care tower at St. Michael's Hospital, providing the largest gift ever received by the downtown Toronto health care centre.
The new 17-storey tower will include five operating rooms and two intensive care units, including one specializing in coronary care cases. Construction is expected to begin in January and take three years to complete.
St. Michael's chief executive officer Robert Howard said the donation "will transform patient care" and help the hospital meet its goal to become the leading critical cares hospital in Canada. The donation is the biggest single gift to the hospital in its 122-year history.
St. Michael's is a trauma centre accredited to care for the most severely injured patients in Toronto and south central Ontario. The hospital has launched a major redevelopment project to double the size of its emergency department, which it says is handling 50 per cent more patients each year than it was designed to accommodate. Mr. Gilgan's donation means St. Michael's has raised $168-million of the $200-million goal it set for its Inspire 2018 fundraising campaign.
Mr. Gilgan said the centre, which will built at the northeast corner of Queen and Victoria Streets, will be state-of-the art "so these amazing health teams can do even more" to care for critically patients. All patient rooms in the new centre will be single rooms, and all will have natural light and space for families.
"I'm so impressed with the quality, skill and professionalism of the doctors, nurses and health care workers at St. Mike's who day in and day out do incredible work with, frankly, not the best facilities," Mr. Gilgan said in a statement.
The hospital said the donation brings Mr. Gilgan's lifetime charitable donations to $150-million, including prior donations of $40-million to Sick Kids Hospital, $10-million to the New Oakville Hospital Foundation, $15-million to Ryerson University's athletics centre, and $6-million toward the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ont.