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Generous gift will help St. Joe’s improve seniors care in the west end

Seniors in our west-end community will have access to better care thanks to a generous donation of $500,000 to St. Joseph’s Health Centre from The Slaight Family Foundation. St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation is one of 12 hospitals and four national organizations benefiting from a combined $15 million to support seniors as part of The Slaight Family Foundation Seniors Initiative.

As a result of the gift, St. Joseph’s Health Centre will work with community partners and acute care hospitals to reduce the number of hospital revisits in the city’s west-end from senior patients by providing a social work navigator. The navigator will meet with senior patients in hospital and follow their journey back home to ensure the patients receive the supports they need when they return home.

“Each year, our team of experts at St. Joe’s cares for an increasing number of seniors, including many with chronic disease. Last year, we had more than 100,000 visits to our Emergency and more than 10,000 were seniors,” says Dr. Fiona Menzies, Chief of Geriatric Medicine. “This generous donation allows us to partner with West Toronto Support Services, Circle of Care community agency, Sinai Health System, University Health Network and Women’s College Hospital in a way that will improve care for seniors in our community and reduce hospital readmissions.”

Maria Dyck, President of St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation, says the Slaight Family Foundation’s investment helps meet the health-care needs of our community, in particular the growing number of seniors in our community. “We are very grateful to the Slaight Family Foundation for their contribution and particularly for their openness to thinking innovatively on how together we can improve care for our community.”

The Slaight Family Foundation was established in 2008 by John Allan Slaight. Allan Slaight is known as Canada’s broadcast pioneer, music leader and a prominent Canadian philanthropist. Through his generosity, the Foundation proactively supports charitable initiatives in the areas of health care, at-risk youth, international development, social services and culture.

“Seniors are the fastest growing part of our population yet a very under supported sector. Finding new ways of supporting seniors particularly those who have trouble accessing our health and social services due to poverty or other barriers is essential to helping to keep seniors healthier longer and in their own communities” said Gary Slaight, The Slaight Family Foundation. “This ground-breaking gift is only possible due to our father Allan Slaight’s foresight, business success and philanthropic leadership. We hope these new models and programs will serve as change agents in moving seniors’ health care forward for years to come.”

 

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