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Three foundations amalgamate as Health Sciences North Foundation

The Northern Cancer Foundation, NEO Kids Foundation, and Health Sciences North Foundation amalgamated as the new Health Sciences North Foundation effective immediately

The Health Sciences North Foundation is now the lone place to go when it comes to fundraising efforts for Northeast Ontario’s biggest health-care centre.

The foundation is an amalgamation of the Northern Cancer Foundation, NEO Kids Foundation and the former Health Sciences North Foundation, whose name the new foundation adopted.

With the amalgamation official as of Oct. 1, dignitaries held a media conference at Health Sciences North to announce the big move which they described as years in the making.

“Today brings together work for the past two to three years to better support our community, to better support our patients, to better invest in research, equipment and capital to bring us into the future,” HSN Foundation and Volunteer Groups president and chief development officer Anthony Keating told local journalists following the announcement.

It’s considered best practice to have one central point of contact for fundraising, he said, noting, “Most hospitals in Ontario and throughout Canada would have that same structure. ... It was a long process, and one our donors and our community were asking us to do for many years.”

Although he clarified that they haven’t collected all the data to determine how much money might be saved as a result of amalgamation, he said, “We know we won’t have to do three audits, have three people doing the same work, three boards of directors, so the long-term savings will be significant for the organization.”

There will be “absolutely no job loss at all,” he said, noting that various people have been repositioned to focus on specific fundraising initiatives, which he anticipates will yield greater results.

The three boards of directors which previously had between 40 and 45 total members at any given time have been whittled down to the new board’s membership of 17. Jacob Gauthier, who sat as president of the namesake board during its previous incarnation, was elected chair of the amalgamated foundation this morning.

“This is a critical time, especially with the capital redevelopment project, and I also believe that this amalgamation will create not only procedural efficiency within the organization itself, but also improve patient care and allow for a significant amount of philanthropy in the region and also brand recognition,” he said. 

The capital redevelopment project, which Keating noted will serve to “right-size our hospital” and effectively double its square footage, will be the newly formed foundation’s key area of focus, alongside other patient-care initiatives, Gauthier said.

During Tuesday’s event, it was announced that $35 million had been raised to date through the three foundations toward the capital redevelopment project.

Recent years have seen the three foundations raise enough funds to buy such things as MRI machines and expand the region’s cancer-care capacity by adding state-of-the-art radiation bunkers.

These functions will be retained under the auspices of the amalgamated foundation, Keating clarified during Tuesday’s event. Donors will still be able to earmark funds toward specific patient areas, be they cancer, pediatrics, cardiology, research or mental health and addictions.

The goal, as always, remains ensuring patients receive advanced care “closer to home,” Keating said.

For more on the Health Sciences North Foundation, including donations, click here.

Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.


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Tyler Clarke

About the Author: Tyler Clarke

Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
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