Toronto (June 14, 2005) - Today, University Health Network announced it has raised the most money in a single health care campaign in Canadian history, and will push forward to half a billion dollars to help find the answers to the world's most pressing medical challenges.
University Health Network is one of the leading academic health science centres in the world, with three outstanding teaching hospitals, three research institutes and three foundations working together to provide exemplary patient care, research and education.
The $425 million raised to date has funded 35 Endowed Chairs, 10 new centres for medical discovery, 4 new cancer programs and millions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art equipment and patient-friendly space.
"Each donation – whether it's $10 or $10 million – adds capacity to our world renowned centres of excellence and research institutes, and helps us attract and retain the world's best medical researchers," said Bryce Douglas, Chair of the UHN Campaign. "By holding to our original timeframe and pushing to a half-billion, this campaign will increase support to these UHN researchers working to find the answers to the complex medical problems we address daily."
Some of the major campaign successes to date include:
- $25 million gift to establish the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research
- $10 million gift to support the Convergence Centre for Medical Discovery
- $10 million gift to establish the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine
- $3 million dollar gift, in response to an anonymous $3.5 million challenge grant, to establish the Joey & Toby Tanenbaum Family Gamma Knife Centre at Toronto Western Hospital
- $5 million gift to establish the Philip Orsino Hematology Centre
- $3 million gift to establish the McLaughlin Rotman Centre
"For an institution to raise this much money for leading-edge technology and research is a real testament to the role of philanthropy in Canada, and I thank and congratulate everyone who contributed to this success," said outgoing UHN President and CEO Tom Closson.
About UHN's Foundations
University Health Network's Foundations - Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation, The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation and The Arthritis & Autoimmunity Research Centre Foundation, raise funds for research, education and the enhancement of patient care at Toronto General Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital and Toronto Western Hospital.
About University Health Network
University Health Network consists of Toronto General, Toronto Western and Princess Margaret Hospitals. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research programs in transplantation, cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, musculoskeletal disease, immune response and genomic medicine, among others. University Health Network is a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto.
