St. Mike’s expansion gets $15M donation

St. Michael’s Hospital’s new emergency department is taking a $15-million step forward thanks to the largest donation from a corporation in the facility’s history.

Element Financial Corp. is making the donation to help fund construction of a new patient care tower for critically ill patients.

The $15-million infusion comes just two weeks after Peter Gilgan, CEO of Mattamy Homes, donated $30-million to the hospital, the largest single donation in the hospital’s history.

With both landmark donations, among many others, St. Michael’s has raised just over $168-million of its $200-million goal in the Inspire 2018 fundraising campaign.

“This gift from Element Financial — on top of the $30-million we received two weeks ago from Peter Gilgan — will help St. Michael’s become the premier critical care hospital in Canada,” Dr. Doug Sinclair, executive vice-president and chief medical officer, told the National Post.

The 17-storey tower will include five state-of-the-art operating rooms, two new intensive care units, and all in-patient rooms will be private.

The atrium in the new tower, intended to be at the heart of the new addition, will be named the Element Financial Atrium. A new pedestrian highway running through the first floor will be known as the Element Financial Way.

“We depend on the availability of a world-class, well-educated workforce and recognize how important institutions like St. Michael’s Hospital are to sustaining the profitability and growth of our business,” said Steven K. Hudson, Element’s chairman and chief executive officer.

Construction for the new tower will begin in January at the northeast corner of Queen and Victoria Streets. Construction is expected to take three years and the hospital will remain open.

The tower is part of a larger hospital redevelopment, St. Michael’s 3.0, which includes renovations that will nearly double the size of the emergency department. The current emergency department takes 75,000 visitors a year, almost double its intended capacity of 45,000.

The tower also will finally give the hospital a front door, which will be on Queen Street and will lead visitors to the atrium. The atrium, with 11 storeys of natural light, is being envisioned as the new meeting place for more than a million patients and visitors each year.

Element Financial Corp. is one of North America’s leading equipment finance companies with $10-billion in total assets.