(Ottawa, Canada) – The Ottawa Hospital has announced a $50-million gift from the Peter Gilgan Foundation toward its new campus, with a planned tower bringing trauma, emergency and intensive-care services together under one roof.

The hospital foundation announced the donation November 3, describing it as the largest philanthropic gift in Ottawa’s history. The Ottawa Business Journal also reported the contribution Tuesday, citing the hospital’s announcement.

The gift supports the hospital’s $500-million Campaign to Create Tomorrow. On its own, the contribution equals one-tenth of that fundraising target; the campaign target is not the total construction budget for the new hospital.

In recognition of the donation, the hospital will name the facility the Peter Gilgan Critical Care Tower. Its planned services include the trauma centre, emergency services and intensive care unit, serving patients from across the region and beyond, according to the foundation.

The announcement is a fundraising milestone for the new campus, rather than the opening of the tower or the start of those services in a completed building.

Hospital president and chief executive Cameron Love said the tower is intended to combine critical-care teams, advanced technology and resources in an environment designed for patients with complex needs and their families. Those are the hospital’s expectations for the planned facility, not measured improvements in care already achieved.

The foundation says the tower will bring together physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and pharmacists, alongside allied health professionals, social workers and spiritual care providers. The focus is care for some of the hospital’s most seriously ill and injured patients.

The donor foundation is associated with Peter Gilgan, who founded Mattamy Homes in 1978. The Ottawa Business Journal reports that the homebuilder operates in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada, as well as the United States.

The hospital’s announcement does not specify a payment schedule for the gift or a separate construction allocation for each service within the tower. It identifies the contribution as support for the broader campaign to build the new hospital.

Accompanying image: editorial illustration.

Sources