Jessica stands for the letter Z for Gen Z in the unique alphabet. Here she shares a hug with her grandmother, who received exceptional care at Centenary Hospital.SUPPLIED
$100-million campaign to upgrade aging hospital facilities
Scarborough is home to more than 630,000 people – nearly a quarter of Greater Toronto’s population. Their health-care needs are served by Scarborough Health Network’s (SHN) three hospitals – Birchmount, Centenary and General. Like other health authorities across Canada, SHN relies heavily on donations to help fund programs and capital costs not covered by the provincial government, yet it receives only one per cent of total donations to hospitals in Toronto.
Alicia Vandermeer, president and CEO of the SHN Foundation, says it’s an inequity that needs to change.
“Scarborough’s hospitals have been left behind for decades and are in urgent need of upgrades, expansions and renovations,” says Ms. Vandermeer. “Over half of our community comprises new Canadians who expect us to fulfill the Canadian promise of equal and equitable health care, and while our talented health care teams provide world-class care, the same cannot be said about our hospital facilities.”
So earlier this year, SHN Foundation launched the Love, Scarborough campaign to raise $100-million and focus attention on addressing health inequities faced in Scarborough and close the gap between SHN’s world-class care and its aging hospital facilities.
Donors big and small responded, including Orlando Corporation, whose gift of $50-million – the largest donation in SHN’s history – will fund a diverse range of activities, and Northpine Foundation’s $20-million gift to fund the creation of Canada’s first no-wait emergency department at SHN’s Centenary Hospital.
The Love, Scarborough campaign is like an open letter from people who work for and have used SHN hospitals. As part of the campaign, Scarborough Sans, a font made using the handwriting of 26 different people who have a connection to SHN, was created.SUPPLIED
Orlando Corporation, one of Canada’s leading landlords of industrial and commercial properties, is investing $50-million to help redevelop the Birchmount Hospital to put it at the forefront of equitable, leading-edge patient care for the growing community. The redeveloped hospital will house the Orlando Corporation Emergency Department. Some of the funding will go towards the establishment of the Orlando Corporation Mental Health Centre of Excellence across all SHN sites, and a portion will support SHN’s areas of greatest need.
The company is also investing $25-million in the University of Toronto’s Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health.
Orlando Corporation president Blair Wolk said at the time the gift was announced that every resident in Scarborough and the eastern Greater Toronto Area (GTA) deserves to live a healthy life and to have access to excellent health care whenever they need it.
“Scarborough Health Network and the University of Toronto are two institutions that can help make this goal a reality, and we’re pleased to be able to support them,” he added.
A portion of Orlando Corporation’s $50-million gift to SHN is a pledge to match, dollar-for-dollar, donations from the community.
Alicia Vandermeer" Support, whether it’s through donations, spreading the word, sharing our social media posts or attending events is how we continue to get closer to our goal of transforming health care for Scarborough.
President and CEO of the SHN Foundation
Ms. Vandermeer says Orlando Corporation’s gift ushers in a new era of equitable health care, helping to update and expand SHN’s hospitals and provide enhanced services such as increased access to kidney care and dialysis, improved diagnostic imaging at the General Hospital and barrier-free mental health care.
She adds that while transformational gifts like those from Orlando Corporation and the Northpine Foundation tend to grab the headlines and boost campaigns, every donation matters, no matter how small.
“We count on the support of one-time, monthly and annual donors to make a difference in the lives of our patients and community,” says Ms. Vandermeer. “Support, whether it’s through donations, spreading the word, sharing our social media posts or attending events is how we continue to get closer to our goal of transforming health care for Scarborough.”
While donations to SHN have lagged behind those to other Toronto hospitals for years, the COVID-19 pandemic helped galvanize the need to do something about it.
SHN experienced the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the province, and it was during this time that the foundation brought its cause to the forefront.
Ms. Vandermeer says the pandemic demonstrated Scarborough’s tremendous resilience and proved that SHN is uniquely equipped to improve the population’s health because its health-care teams and staff reflect the diverse and unique community.
Dr. Martin Betts, corporate chief and medical director of critical care at SHN, reflects on the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.SUPPLIED
Scarborough’s population includes 59 per cent new Canadians and 74 per cent visible minorities, making it one of the most diverse communities in Canada. Ms. Vandermeer says this diversity brings strength but also challenges like racial, financial and cultural gaps. Scarborough has the lowest household income in the GTA, an aging population and culturally prevalent conditions and diseases.
Nevertheless, she says SHN teams are able to address health concerns in a culturally sensitive manner and in multiple languages. They became leaders in equitable health care during the pandemic because they are innovative, creative and courageous, and ensure the community is represented and supported.
“If the past two and a half years taught us anything, it’s that sickness does discriminate,” she says. “Unfortunately, the same can also be said for our health-care system. One of the problems is lack of awareness that this health-care gap exists.”
Ms. Vandermeer says the launch of the Love, Scarborough campaign showed Toronto what SHN has known for years – that the Scarborough community deserves the same level of innovative technology and facilities enjoyed by other Toronto communities.
“The campaign is an open letter to the rest of Toronto to raise awareness that health care isn’t actually equal and to shine a light on these health-care inequities – and to tell Torontonians that we need them to back us up,” she says.
Information: shn.ca
Advertising feature produced by Randall Anthony Communications. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.