The Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Family Foundation has provided an $8.5-million series of gifts to three Waterloo region hospitals and the South Bruce Grey Health Centre that has strengthened their ability to respond quickly and effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release sent out Monday.
The financial support allowed hospitals to acquire necessary equipment including beds, ventilators, laboratory testing equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) for physicians and staff, stated Lee Fairclough, president of St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener.
“We didn’t even have to ask,” said Ron Gagnon, president and CEO of Grand River Hospital in Kitchener.
“In late February, before any of our communities had experienced their first confirmed cases of COVID-19, Mike Lazaridis was in contact with us. He was keenly aware of the health-care system challenges that were about to unfold. It was clear that not only did he hope to help with immediate needs, but also to set us up for success in the future. These gifts allowed us to move quickly to implement the plans we had been preparing and act proactively.”
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Gagnon said Lazaridis helped open doors to contacts and supply chains around the world, created bridges to the tech and innovation sector and has freely provided his wealth of insight and experience.
“Knowing we had the additional financial support at the outset allowed our teams to think in a less constrained way,” noted Fairclough.
All four hospitals, including Cambridge Memorial Hospital, expanded capacity to prepare for unprecedented numbers of patients in a way that kept staff and physicians safe.
The work in southern Grey Bruce, where SBGHC has four sites, poses a unique challenge, it says.
“We have expanded our capacity across all of our sites with the support we’ve received from the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Family Foundation,” said Michael Barrett, president and CEO of SBGHC.
“We are also grateful for the doors Mike has opened for us and the opportunity to work more closely with the innovation sector and hospitals in the Region of Waterloo.”
According to the press release, the urgency of the COVID-19 response pushed the hospitals to try new approaches to everyday and emerging challenges — from pharmacy teams developing new and safer approaches to medication preparation in order to reduce the need for scarce N95 masks, to using newly developed software to manage the screening of staff at their doors, to working with local companies to develop new supply chains for PPE.
“Taking risks isn’t something often associated with hospitals,” said Patrick Gaskin, president and CEO of Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
“The Lazaridis family’s gift and Mike’s encouragement and connections opened up the opportunity to try new and innovative approaches to solving problems. Our communities will benefit from what we’ve been able to do long after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.”
When asked what moved them to support these particular hospitals, Mike Lazaridis, co-founder of Quantum Valley Investments in Waterloo, replied: “Ophelia and I wanted to help our community at this time of urgent need and make sure our hospitals and health-care workers had the ability to prepare early. We’re pleased to have this opportunity to enable, and to witness, the passion and innovative spirit of the staff and physicians at these hospitals.
“I am also so proud of the entrepreneurs in the Region of Waterloo and how they have stepped forward and worked with our hospitals and health-care workers to create new supply chains and solutions to keep patients and providers safe.”
Waterloo Chronicle
