Eric and Vizma Sprott, through The Sprott Foundation, announce $25-million donation to UHN

TORONTO, Dec. 17, 2018 /CNW/ - Eric and Vizma Sprott, through The Sprott Foundation, have donated shares worth approximately $21.7 million to Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation. The gift is part of a new $25-million commitment to support the Sprott Department of Surgery at UHN.

"This latest gift from The Sprott Foundation will further transform surgical innovation at UHN, enabling our world-leading research and life-saving surgical care," said UHN Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Shaf Keshavjee.

Mr. Sprott, Chair of Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd., announced that 650,000 shares of Kirkland Lake Gold were gifted to support patient care and research innovation in the surgical centre that bears the Sprott name. Funds will be used for a range of surgical upgrades at Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, including new imaging equipment, 3-D printing technology, modernization of existing surgical suites, enhanced Intensive Care Units for transplant patients and an interventional suite dedicated to minimally invasive treatment.

In 2012, The Sprott Foundation made a $25-million gift in support of the Department of Surgery at UHN. In recognition of this generosity, the Sprott Department of Surgery at UHN was named.

"This is wonderful news for our hospital. This spectacular gift brings The Sprott Foundation's total giving to UHN to well over $50 million," said Mr. Raj Kothari, Chair of the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation Board of Directors.

About the Sprott Department of Surgery
The Sprott Department of Surgery at University Health Network is one of the largest surgical programs in Canada and consists of 39 staffed operating rooms, with our surgical teams performing more than 25,000 surgeries a year. It offers varied surgical services, including cardiac, oncology, neuro, orthopedics, spine, vascular, general, plastics, thoracic, transplant, otolaryngology and ophthalmology. Surgeons have advanced training in their specialties and perform some of the most technically difficult surgeries worldwide.  uhn.ca/surgery

About University Health Network
University Health Network (UHN) includes Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the Michener Institute of Education at UHN. The scope of research and complexity of cases at UHN has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. UHN is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. uhn.ca

About Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation
Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation raises funds for research, education and the enhancement of patient care at Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, as well as the Michener Institute of Education at UHN. Together with its donors, the Foundation is helping world-leading health experts pursue the knowledge that makes all our lives better. tgwhf.ca

SOURCE Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation

Tennys Hanson, Chief Executive Officer, Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation, [email protected]