$52 million gift from John and Myrna Daniels’ family for new emergency medicine center dedicated to senior care

Toronto Western Hospital will get a new emergency medicine center dedicated to senior care thanks to a historic $52 million donation by the John and Myrna Daniels Foundation. (Paul Smith/CBC – image credit)

Canada’s largest research hospital will create the country’s first emergency care center for seniors thanks to a $52 million dollar donation that the organization says is the largest gift toward emergency medicine in Canadian history.

The University Health Network announced Saturday that the center would be the first of its kind globally. It will feature a comprehensive research and education program, staff specialized in geriatric care, and a physical space designed to accommodate seniors’ unique needs.

These are all things that can help healthcare workers provide the type of care they’ve always wanted to give but haven’t always been able to due to resource and system constraints, says UHN medical director of emergency departments, Dr. Sam Sabbah.

“Our older adults, they’ve contributed so much throughout their lifetime,” said Sabbah. “We really owe it to them to give them the best of the best of care.”

The donation comes at a crucial time. Canada’s aging population will, in the coming years, not only strain the country’s labor force but also the healthcare system.

Despite the looming threat, Sabbah said the center would have been “virtually impossible” to get off the ground solely through the public sphere in the “current fiscal environment.” Right now, hospitals are focused on maintaining the services they can, he says.

“It’s no secret that our hospital systems, our acute care system, and our long-term care system is at and above capacity,” said Sabbah.

“Certainly there is funding available through the government … but to take it to the next level, it would have been impossible to do without the generous support of our donors.”

The donation was given to the network by the John and Myrna Daniels Foundation, a charity that focuses widely on health care, education, food security and the relief of poverty. The foundation has previously donated $20 million to UHN for facility upgrades and research.

For caregivers like Santa Cuda, the center has been coming in time.

She’s been taking her 82-year-old mother to UHN for over two decades and has watched her mother slowly acquire geriatric services on top of her cardiac issues. She’s grateful for a new center, which she says will help future patients get more support finding and treating their ailments.

“It’s going to improve the experience of seniors in the coming into emergency, reduce revisits and better health outcomes in the end,” said Cuda, a patient partner with UHN, who works with UHN staff to help improve health care.

“That’s what the doctors want, the nurses, families and I think all Ontarians want.”

The new center, which will be named after Myrna Daniels, will be housed at Toronto Western Hospital, the network says, along with Canada’s largest brain, arthritis, and vision programs. It’s currently scheduled to open in 2025.

“We’re building something that we can be proud of for our loved ones, but that we will utilize as well when the time comes,” said Sabbah.