JGH unveils heart centre
Funded by $26M donation from Azrieli Foundation
The Jewish General Hospital inaugurated a multidisciplinary heart centre on Monday that is expected to make pioneering advances in the field of cardiac imaging after receiving the largest single donation in its history.
The Azrieli Foundation has donated $26 million to the centre named in honour of the late Montreal philanthropist David Azrieli. The largest previous donation to the Jewish General was $20 million to establish the Segal Cancer Centre by the Alvin Segal Family Foundation.
Health Minister Gaétan Barrette, who toured the centre that is located in the Jewish General’s K Pavilion, welcomed the donation, saying hospital foundations can help push the health-care system further.
“The responsibility of government is to provide care to the best level possible in relationship with the budget that we have,” Barrette explained to reporters after the news conference.
“But if you build a high-end facility like we’ve done with the K Pavilion, for instance, there’s always an added edge to any kind of institution that is attained (with) the involvement of foundations.
When someone comes in with a heart attack, 60 minutes later we’re in a cath lab opening their artery.
They provide opportunities to go even further than what we can do as a government. That is the reason why I always say that the best of the best goes through the foundations.
“And in this community, it was always the case,” Barrette added, alluding to the Jewish community. “It’s been the case for the last 80 years or so.”
The Azrieli Heart Centre will fund a number of research and teaching projects, including one involving robotic surgery, and invest in better care for patients, said Dr. Lawrence Rudski, chief of cardiology.
“The reason why I’m so excited about (this centre) is because we can do things quickly that a lot of other specialties can’t do,” Rudski said.
“When someone comes in with a heart attack, 60 minutes later we’re in a cath lab opening their artery. These are things that people would have died from 20 years ago.
“With these additional funds, we can push the envelope even further, make sure that we can offer (these treatments) to even more patients and really do the cutting-edge stuff that no one else is doing.”
With the $26-million donation, the Côte-des-Neiges hospital will set up a learning lab for nurses and other clinicians who have returned from international conferences and who want to share their newfound knowledge, provide added funds for the existing robotic and general cardiac surgery programs and forge ahead with advancements in cardiac MRI imaging.
Money will also be pumped into furthering research into geriatric cardiology and the hospital’s pulmonary hypertension program that is run by Dr. David Langleben.
In addition to the heart centre, some funds will be allocated to the hospital’s intensive-care unit.
Premier Philippe Couillard delivered a previously recorded video message shown at the news conference in which he thanked the Azrieli Foundation.