$10 million donation will reduce MRI wait times at Mississauga’s huge new hospital
Published January 11, 2024 at 5:24 pm
A $10 million donation to Mississauga’s hospital network is expected to deliver cutting-edge diagnostic imaging facilities that, among other benefits, will reduce wait times for MRIs at the city’s massive new hospital when it opens to patients.
The eight-figure gift comes from an Etobicoke family whose personal connection to Mississauga Hospital, Credit Valley Hospital and the Queensway Health Centre — the three comprise Trillium Health Partners — has spanned generations, according to THP officials.
The large donation was officially delivered on Thursday morning at CVH, where longtime hospital supporters Brent and Jodie Cator gathered with THP officials and others to mark the occasion and talk about the much-needed services the money will provide.
Hospital officials said in a news release the diagnostic imaging program at the Mississauga/west Etobicoke healthcare network will get “a major boost in size, innovation and technological advancement” thanks to the “remarkable $10 million donation” from the Cators.
“The donation will increase the size of THP’s diagnostic imaging program by 66 per cent within the future home of The Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital, which is set to become Canada’s largest hospital,” THP officials said.
“The desire to donate to THP’s diagnostic imaging program is inspired by a personal connection for the family that has spanned generations. The program, already among the most innovative in the province, will be renamed The Cator Family Diagnostic Imaging Program.”
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THP officials say the new program will bring the following changes and innovations:
- expansion of The Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital’s imaging services by 66 per cent, leading to lower wait times for diagnostic services
- emergency department will gain 24/7 access to a Satellite Diagnostic Imaging Centre for swift diagnoses, with portable X-rays and ultrasounds facilitating rapid bedside care
- an increase in diagnostic imaging rooms and equipment across THP’s three sites, including seven additional ultrasound rooms and five more catheterization laboratories
- learner facilities at Mississauga Hospital and increased Interventional Suites at Mississauga Hospital and Credit Valley Hospital
- separation of inpatient and outpatient services at Mississauga Hospital and separation of all outpatient services at Queensway Health Centre
- earlier detection, fewer follow-up tests and an improved patient experience
- expansion of after-hour screening services, launch of new programs and integration of AI tools that will provide staff with enhanced diagnostics and the ability to improve patient safety
THP officials say their three hospitals serve the greatest number of inpatients in Ontario and over the next 20 years will face more demand for services like diagnostic imaging than any other hospital in the province.
Rendering of what the ultrasound room may look like once completed at Trillium Health Partners’ Queensway Health Centre site.
In March 2023, they noted, 24 per cent of emergency patients required advanced diagnostic imaging, up from 15 per cent in 2019.
That number is expected to rise to 30 per cent by 2025.
“Community support plays an integral role in ensuring we can continue delivering outstanding health care today while boldly innovating to advance the health of the community tomorrow,” said THP president and CEO Karli Farrow. “This investment will allow us to implement cutting-edge innovation and technology into our medical imaging tools to reduce exam times, expedite diagnoses and improve patient safety and experience.
“Thanks to the Cator family, we are one step closer to expanding capacity, access and services to our community for generations to come.”
THP is home to 14 regional programs that include the diagnostic imaging program and offers specialized care in areas of cancer, cardiac disease, orthopedics and more across all three hospital sites.
“Brent and Jodie Cator are longstanding members of our donor community and over the years have enabled leading-edge care through generous investments in our world-class oncology and cardiac programs, seniors care and diagnostic imaging,” said Caroline Riseboro, president and CEO of the THP Foundation.
Brent Cator, CEO of Cardinal Meat Specialists Limited, which has locations in both Mississauga and Brampton, said THP is “our family hospital” and the donation is inspired by the “exceptional care members of our family have received for many decades.”
“Our daughters, Sedona and Taryn, were both born at THP and the hospital has cared for our families, employees and friends,” he said. “Naming the Diagnostic Imaging Program is also a beautiful way to honour Jodie’s mother, Sandy Duke, who served for many years on the diagnostic imaging team. We are proud to ensure that families will continue to have access to compassionate care for generations to come at the future home of The Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital.”
Members of the Cator family on hand at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga, where they officially presented a $10 million donation to THP.
The Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital, named for the local developer/philanthropist who early in 2022 gifted $105 million to the huge project, will rise to 24 storeys as it’s built over the next decade or so.
While the specific cost of the new hospital being built on the same Hurontario Street/The Queensway site where the current health-care facility is located is not yet known, the provincial government described the Mississauga Hospital undertaking as a “multibillion-dollar project” in an Infrastructure Ontario update last year.
Construction will begin sometime in 2025. A completion date has not yet been set, but officials said earlier it’ll be about a decade down the road.
Hospital officials say the state-of-the-art hospital will be about 2.8 million square feet in size, nearly three times the size of the current structure.
The new hospital will also provide doctors and staff with leading-edge equipment and resources needed to deliver exceptional care for the growing community, officials add.
Twenty-three cutting-edge operating rooms, up from the 14 older ORs currently in use, will be housed in the new facility.
Additionally, the emergency department will be one of the largest in Ontario and some 350 new beds will be added to bring the total to more than 950. More than 80 per cent of the beds will be in private rooms.
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