Ottawa Hospital Foundation launches $500 million fundraiser for new Civic Campus
The Ottawa Hospital Foundation is launching an ambitious fundraising campaign, seeking $500 million to help build the new Civic Campus and improve health care in the city.
The foundation says the fundraiser, known as the "Campaign to Create Tomorrow", is the largest fundraising campaign in Ottawa history.
"With the launch of the largest fundraising campaign in Ottawa's history, each of us can be part of a moment that future citizens of our community will someday look back on and realize, together, we revolutionized health care for generations to come," said Tim Kluke, president and CEO of the Ottawa Hospital Foundation. "Our donors and volunteers have enthusiastically embraced this special moment in time, as this campaign supports one of the most important community legacy projects of our lifetime."
The fundraiser will help cover some of the costs for the new campus project, as well as other initiatives at the Ottawa Hospital, including:
- pushing health-care research and discoveries to the very top tier in the world;
- ushering in the most advanced digital technology, including the largest data analytics platform in the country; and
- further strengthening critical services from complex lifesaving surgeries to expertise in neurosurgery to remaining one of the largest and best-equipped regional cancer treatment centres.
The new Civic Campus near Dow's Lake is projected to cost $2.8 billion, with the Ministry of Health funding $2.1 billion of that. The remaining costs are expected to be covered through fundraising and other revenue streams.
The fundraiser kicked off with a $25 million donation from the shareholders of the Minto Group, touted as the single larged health-care donation in Ottawa's history. Executive Chairman Roger Greenberg was made the chair of the "Campaign to Create Tomorrow" and said he, his five siblings, and his cousin were proud to be part of the campaign.
"It is an incredible opportunity we've been given to help so many through our philanthropy," Greenberg said. "We, along with the generosity of so many others, will completely transform how our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren living in the Greater Ottawa area will be cared for. No one else will do this for us. It's our turn. It's our time."
Greenberg told CTV News his family has a strong connection with the Ottawa Hospital.
"Our parents were born there, all of my siblings and I were born there, two of my three children were born there. We have a strong, long-term family connection with the Civic," he said. "I think health care is a number one cause. If you don't have your health, you don't have anything."
Greenberg said he believes the people of Ottawa will come through to help fund the new hospital and the fundraiser is already well on its way.
"It's an extraordinary amount of money but I think we have a community that's caring, that appreciates the need to share in their good fortune. We're going to get gifts from $5,000 all the way up to millions of dollars," he said. "We've already raised $216 million in what I call the quiet stage of the campaign and I'm convinced there are lots and lots of donors that we've not reached out to yet and we'll reach our goal."
One of the biggest advantages the new campus would have, Greenberg said, is the ability to provide each patient their own room.
"Right now, most of the beds at the Civic are double, triple or quadruple beds and it's just not a great way to help people recover when they've had major surgeries and especially with the pandemic, we've seen the importance of being able to isolate people from others so as not to increase infection," he said.
The new 50-acre campus has been the subject of intense scrutiny since its location was announced, with some neighbouring residents opposed to the site plan, which includes a four-storey parking garage.
Finding a new home for the nearly century-old Civic has been controversial. In 2015, the newly-elected federal Liberal government decided to revisit the plan by the former Conservative government to build the new site on Experimental Farm land directly across from the old one on Carling Avenue. The NCC had recommended building the new campus at Tunney's Pasture, but the Ottawa Hospital Board unanimously rejected that idea.
The site plan for the new campus near Dow's Lake was unveiled in May 2021 and has been approved by city council.
Construction on the massive project is slated to begin in 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Blind Sask. boy heading to international braille competition hopes to increase accessibility for visually impaired
A Saskatchewan boy who qualified for an international braille competition in Los Angeles next month hopes he can inspire change in his home province.
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.