Largest-ever donation of $25M to support patient health and research institute

Toronto, ON – St Michael’s Hospital has received its largest-ever donation of $25 million from the Li Ka Shing (Canada) Foundation (LKSCF) which will be used to establish the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute. The institute is being founded in order to bring science to patients faster than ever before.

St Michael’s Hospital is affiliated with the University of Toronto. Due to Mr Li’s generosity, the hospital is naming the new facility the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute. The institute will comprise two centres with a total gross floor area of 285,500 sq ft, with construction scheduled to commence next spring and completion planned for 2009. It will house the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Centre in Health Care Education.

As the first grant recipient from LKSCF, SMH will be joining University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, the University of California at Berkeley in the United States, the Institut Pasteur in France, the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Shantou University in Mainland China who have received major grants under LKSF’s HK$3 billion biomedical program.

“This is the largest single donation ever received by St Michael’s Hospital. This incredible donation reinforces that Canadian research, education and patient care are at the forefront of international medical science,” says Jeffrey Lozon, the hospitals president and CEO.

Researchers use the skills they have acquired to translate their findings to clinicians, and clinicians in turn relay back the findings to their patients. By combining groundbreaking research and medical education with practical training in a hospital facility the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute will serve as a new model for other hospitals in this country and for institutions around the world.

“Combining research, education and practice creates an incubator or hothouse effect. All areas are able to function more effectively by being proximate to the other. The Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute will be such an incubator – fusing University of Toronto expertise in research and education with St. Michael’s Hospital’s proud tradition of outstanding patient care to address the challenges facing health care today,” says Dr Arthur Slutsky, vice president of research at St Michael’s Hospital.

“Mr. Li is recognized as being one of the most successful businessmen and outstanding philanthropists of our time,” adds Lozon. “We are pleased that he has looked across Canada and chosen to partner with St Michael’s Hospital. By using our hospital as a living lab we will discover the best ways to increase the adoption of best practices among our health professionals. We can then share these insights broadly with other health care institutions within Canada and, through our partnership with other leading institutions like Shantou University and others, globally. Thanks to Mr Li’s foresight, patient care will improve dramatically around the world.”