To our community,
This year was filled with inspiration and remarkable moments for both Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) and Michael Garron Hospital Foundation. You have our gratitude for everything you’ve done to contribute to our shared success.
Over the past year, we marked many milestones as we continue to redevelop our facilities to better serve everyone who comes through our doors. We opened a new waiting room for diagnostic imaging patients; an expanded seating area of the Moez & Marissa Kassam Food Court; new homes for Pharmasave, Subway and Tim Hortons; a waiting room for families with loved ones in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), our BMO Child and Youth Centre and much more. These spaces allow us to serve our patients at some of the most challenging times in their lives.
Many of these updated spaces were generously supported by donors who prioritize the health and well-being of our community and realize the importance of investing in our great care. Gifts to our hospital support everything from updated spaces and equipment to programs and innovation. Their support enables us to keep pace with the speed of science and technology, including contributing toward a new da Vinci Surgical System that facilitates robotic-assisted surgeries and reduces recovery times so patients can return quickly to doing what they love.
This is just some of the progress that our donors made possible over the last year. And you are pivotal to inspiring the generosity of our community. Your dedication speaks volumes to everyone who relies on us for great care. You’re the very reason so many people we serve choose to give back. Thank you for everything you do.
To continue to meet the needs of our evolving community, it’s clear that we need to invest in our future. This year, we launched the consultation and engagement process for our next Strategic Plan, which will serve as our guide for the next decade. This will act as a bold vision for our hospital as we look to build a bright and thriving future. We look forward to sharing more with you in the New Year.
We have a lot to be proud of at MGH and it’s our people that make it so great. We were named the Toronto Star’s Readers’ Choice Diamond Hospital this year – proof positive of the community’s love for the heart of the east. We have remained steadfast in our commitment to working with our Ontario Health Team, East Toronto Health Partners, to meet the health and social needs of our community. And we always found time to express gratitude and celebrate the people who make our organization great. We are proud that MGH was named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers for the ninth year in a row.
As we prepare to enter a new year, we will update this page to reveal and reflect on some of our proudest achievements of 2024. Many of these successes were made possible by you – our dedicated teams, donors, partners and community. We hope you enjoy celebrating these accomplishments as much as we do.
Wishing you a safe and healthy holiday season and a happy New Year.
Advanced care for babies, children and families
This year, MGH strengthened its paediatric care with the opening of the BMO Child and Youth Centre, a brand-new facility for the hospital’s paediatric outpatients. The new 8,500-square foot space is home to more than 20 clinics that operate from one integrated facility, providing essential services to children, youth and families in East Toronto.
The Child and Youth Centre includes the Child Development Clinic, Eating Disorders Clinic, Paediatric Cardiology Clinic, and family-focused clinics such as the Family and Newborn (FAN) Clinic and Breastfeeding Clinic.
The co-location of these clinics will allow families to access streamlined and convenient care in a modern facility that spans additional procedure rooms and more spacious areas that can better accommodate parents and family members accompanying children to the hospital. There are also more dedicated spaces for staff and physicians, which will help encourage team collaboration and make workflows more efficient.
In addition, the hospital renamed its Special Care Nursery as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which is now home to 14 new donor-funded incubators. This new name better reflects the high-quality, lifesaving care the unit offers our tiniest patients. It also more accurately captures the unit’s specialized staff and medical equipment, which allows the team to provide a fuller spectrum of critical care for ill and premature babies and their families.
We also opened a new home for our Child and Youth Mental Health Outpatient Unit. Located on K4, the larger and brighter space gives children and youth in the community the opportunity to access multiple mental health services in one place. The new unit further strengthens MGH’s commitment to providing high-quality mental health care and wellness through a person- and family-centred approach.
Introduced state-of-the-art technologies
This year, MGH was fortunate to receive a range of state-of-the-art equipment and innovative technologies, which help make the care we provide more modern and efficient. In many cases, we were among the first hospitals in Ontario or Canada to introduce these technologies, demonstrating our commitment to strengthening our quality of care and improving the hospital experience for everyone.
Thanks to our donors, our new equipment includes a high-definition imaging technology that helps our team better identify blood vessel blockages and other issues associated with heart disease. Donors also supported mechanical ventilators equipped with the latest respiratory therapies needed for prolonged ventilation and intensive medical care. Our team also implemented an artificial intelligence tool that’s reducing wait times for patients in our Stavro Emergency Department.
Progress on our historic redevelopment project
We made significant strides on our transformative redevelopment project this year. This includes opening the BMO Child and Youth Centre and refreshed spaces for our Child and Youth Mental Health Outpatient Unit and Stroke Unit; unveiling new waiting rooms for our Intensive Care Unit and Margaret Chambers Diagnostic Imaging Department; and completing new offices for our Business, Critical Care, Health Records, Information and Technology Management, Patient Experience, Respiratory Therapist, and Spiritual and Religious Care Teams.
In addition, Pharmasave, Subway and Tim Hortons, longtime vendors at MGH, moved to new locations. These larger, brighter and more modern spaces allow patients and hospital team members to get the food, drinks and other items they need to stay nourished and healthy.
Thank you to our teams across the hospital for their hard work and dedication in making this progress as smooth as possible. We're also grateful to our funders and partners, including the Ministry of Health and donors to Michael Garron Hospital Foundation, for helping to bring our campus transformation to life.
We look forward to advancing the next steps in our historic redevelopment project, including the opening of more renovated spaces, demolition of outdated wings, and extensive exterior landscaping.
The power of partnership in philanthropy
Arm in arm, Michael Garron Hospital Foundation and our hospital team work to build on what’s great.
With an investment of $2.5 million, Moez and Marissa Kassam recently established a Vital Equipment Fund to ensure our team has the tools and technology they need to be at their best for patients. The fund has already enabled the acquisition of cutting-edge equipment, including a High-Definition Intravascular Ultrasound for the Cardiology team, making us one of the first hospitals in Canada to utilize this advanced technology. It also supported the purchase of a new ultrasound machine and additional instruments for the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. And plans are in place to further equip departments throughout our hospital in the New Year.
Every gift matters. More often, it takes a village to ensure our team has what’s needed to provide great care. When donors heard that our da Vinci Surgical System was reaching the end of its serviceable life, they helped us reach our goal to raise $2.45 million and purchase a replacement.
This allowed our Department of Urology to advance their expertise in treating prostate cancer patients and it expanded the range of treatment areas to include kidney conditions. In January, members of our Thoracic Surgery team will start using the robot to treat people with lung, esophageal and mediastinal cancers. Down the road, there’s also potential to use the robot for colorectal and gynaecological surgeries.
That’s the power of philanthropy! And these are just two examples of what happens when people feel inspired to support the great work of our hospital in service to their families, friends and neighbours.
We’re grateful to our donors and to the team members who inspire their generosity.