PHILANTHROPIC DEVELOPERS DONATE INNISFIL LAND

An influential development company has donated 50 acres of land in the Town of Innisfil to Royal Victoria Hospital, to allow planning to begin for the future health care needs of the region’s exploding population.

Today philanthropists David Braley and Mario Cortellucci, recognized for their belief in sustainable communities, signed an agreement to transfer the property to Royal Victoria Hospital for potential development of a second hospital site in the future.

“This gift of land demonstrates, not just outstanding philanthropy, but also a tremendous vision,” says Janice Skot, RVH President and Chief Executive Officer. “Securing land for additional health care services in the southern reaches of Simcoe Muskoka has been part of the hospital’s strategic plan for many years. We’ve recognized for some time that, even as RVH prepares to begin construction on its Phase 1 Expansion Project, we must start planning now to meet the health care needs of future generations.”

The area’s explosive population growth is expected to continue into the foreseeable future, as new residents ‘leapfrog’ over the GTA greenbelt and relocate in Simcoe County, pushing its population to 667,000 by about 2030. The Town of Innisfil, which has seen its population double in the past two decades, is expected to grow dramatically.

“The Town of Innisfil predicts its population will grow to 65,000 over the next 25 years and timely access to exceptional hospital care is critically important to those new residents,” says Innisfil Mayor Brian Jackson. “Not only is Innisfil a retirement destination, but many young families with children are moving to our town. Both of those demographics require specialized health care and will be well-served by another RVH facility.”

The new hospital property, on the 6th line of Innisfil, just west of Yonge Street, sits in the heart of an area slated for significant future development which will transform the Town of Innisfil. The Cortel Group’s plans for the immediate land surrounding the hospital site also include a health sciences educational facility and Centre of Scientific Excellence, with a mandate to study water purification.

“We want to contribute to the Town of Innisfil in a very real and tangible way. Simply put, we want to make this community a better place to live,” says David Braley, “We’ve been very impressed by what Royal Victoria Hospital has achieved over the past several years and Cortel is convinced this is the best investment it can make to ensure residents have access to high quality health care in the years to come.”

Given the area’s population growth, it is expected that RVH’s Phase 1 Expansion will be close to capacity when it opens in late 2011. At that point, all available property on the Georgian Drive campus will be exhausted, without the addition of costly, multitier parking structures. In the meantime, many of the hospital’s most urgent patient care needs are not being addressed in this expansion. Priority patient needs that need to expand in the years ahead include; Paediatrics, Special Care Nursery, Obstetrics, Child/Adolescent Mental Health, Geriatrics, Rehabilitation, Surgical Daycare and Ambulatory Care Services.

“Health care facilities are not planned and built overnight. They require an enormous amount a planning and close consultation and collaboration with government, health partners and the community,” says RVH Board Chair Steve Blanchet. “This is a gift for the region of the future, but it gives RVH a tremendous start on that planning.”

About the Cortel Group: The Cortel Group mission statement is committed to “developing sustainable communities using the most innovative eco-science and technology with respect for natural heritage.”

Mr. Mario Cortellucci is a well-respected businessman, an extraordinary philanthropist, great patron of the arts and a champion of various charitable causes and sponsor of sporting events. He has been honoured with many awards including the Order of Ontario and the Queen Elizabeth 50th Anniversary Jubilee Gold Medal. In 2007 the Confederation of Italian Entrepreneurs Worldwide (CIIM) recognized Mr. Cortellucci with the Canada Entrepreneurial Award of Excellence.

Mr. David Braley is a Burlington-based entrepreneur, whose wide-ranging philanthropic efforts have funded Research and Family Medicine chairs at McMaster University, the David Braley Athletic Centre and the David Braley Cardiac, Vascular and Stroke Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences. He is the owner of the BC Lions and Alternate Governor of the Canadian Football League. He was inducted into the McMaster University Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and was recently awarded the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association Appreciation Award for outstanding philanthropic and community service.

About RVH: Royal Victoria Hospital is a 299-bed community hospital in Barrie, Ontario, located 80 kilometres north of Toronto. As the largest hospital in Simcoe Muskoka, it provides specialty services to almost half a million Central Ontario residents. RVH’s team of over 200 physicians, 2,200 employees and 1,100 volunteers provide exceptional health care, specializing in emergency services, cancer care, orthopedics, intensive care, mental health, interventional radiology and rehabilitation. RVH has embarked on a Phase 1 Expansion Project which will double the size of the existing hospital, while adding 101 new inpatient beds and the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre. For more information, visit our website at www.rvh.on.ca.