TORONTO EAST HEALTH NETWORK FOUNDATION

Michael Garron Hospital Foundation raises funds and engages our community in support of Michael Garron Hospital a vibrant community teaching hospital serving more than 400 000 people in 22 distinct neighbourhoods in East Toronto. With support from generous donors companies community groups foundations and estates the foundation grants the hospital funding for state-of-the-art equipment patient-oriented research and innovative programs and services while contributing toward its spaces and facilities. The foundation works closely with the hospital to establish fundraising priorities based on its strategic plan and with a view to areas of greatest need.

Addressing specific needs in our community: Our community has a high incidence of heart disease. To address this our specialists save lives prevent heart attacks and enable people to be more active. This vital work takes place in our Cardiac Catheterization Lab which has earned us the distinction of being among just five Toronto hospitals offering advanced cardiac care. To address high and growing demand for our services a second state-of-the-art procedure room in our catheterization lab will soon allow us to perform up to 1 500 additional procedures annually. What’s more it will free up precious operating room time to help alleviate Ontario’s surgery backlog so that people can receive the care they need sooner. Enabling more patients to recover faster from surgery: Minimally invasive surgery is associated with less pain fewer complications and shorter recovery times compared to traditional approaches. Our Division of Urology is a leader in robotic-assisted surgery using the da Vinci Surgical System which enables our team to operate through keyhole incisions with increased precision. We acquired our current da Vinci robot in 2012. Over the years this established our Division of Urology as a leader in robotic-assisted surgery for prostate cancer. To bring the benefits of minimally invasive procedures to more patients we’re replacing the robot. This will allow newly recruited specialists to treat lung and kidney cancers using up-to-date equipment. Bolstering innovation for an even greater impact: Our team is constantly finding new ways to do more and to do better in service of our community. The solutions we co-design with our patients and clinicians are built specifically to offer equity and barrier-free access so that everyone can receive the excellent healthcare they deserve. Many of the innovations developed and launched at Michael Garron Hospital go on to be scaled and studied throughout the province proving their potential for broader impact. Since we actioned them here first we are uniquely positioned to track and assess the effectiveness of our advancements in real time ahead of anyone else. By enhancing capacity for rigorous evaluation we inform turnkey solutions that other hospitals can use to better support people in their communities too.