Ottawa Hospital Foundation launches historic fundraising campaign

Representatives of the Ottawa Hospital Foundation announced on April 19 the launch of what they call the largest and most ambitious fundraising campaign in Ottawa's history. 

The foundation is seeking $500 million to help build the new Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital. The campaign will:

• Build the development on Carling Avenue that will be home to the most patient-centred and technologically advanced research hospital in Canada
• Push healthcare research and discoveries to the very top tier in the world
• Usher in the most advanced digital technology, including the largest data analytics platform in the country
• Further strengthen 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 is projected to cost $2.8 billion, with the Ministry of Health funding $2.1 billion of the cost. The remaining costs are expected to be covered through fundraising initiatives and other revenue streams. 

“This will literally transform the way health care delivery will take place in the Ottawa-Carleton region,” said Roger Greenberg, who was named the campaign chair, on The Sam Laprade Show on April 19, 2022. 

Greenberg, who is the executive chairman of the Minto Group and executive chairman and managing partner of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, revealed a $25 million donation at the campaign's launch from the Minto Group. 

“It is an incredible opportunity we’ve been given to help so many through our philanthropy,” said Greenberg. “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 said his family has strong ties with the Ottawa Hospital. He was born there, his siblings were born there, as were his parents and two of his children.

 “The hospital is 100 years old, and they are trying to operate with very old hardware,” said Greenberg. “At some point you have to say, we need an upgrade.”

Bushra Saeed-Khan, trauma survivor and amputee, emphasized it’s time for single-patient rooms and how a new campus will epitomize excellence in universal accessibility.

“I am so grateful for the community and the Ottawa Hospital for these efforts,” she said on The Sam Laprade Show on April 19. “As a patient who has used the hospital's services over the last 10 years, it brings me great joy to assist any way I can.”

Construction on the hospital's parking garage is expected to start this year, with the new campus scheduled to open some time in 2028. 

Listen to the full interview with Roger Greenberg and Bushra Saeed-Khan on The Sam Laprade Show below: