Sunnybrook Fou nd ation Report to Donors 2015 When a life is in our hands, your support matters most Contents Leadership Message 2 Trauma, Emergency & 40 Critical Care Program Hurvitz Brain 12 Sciences Program Sunnybrook Rose Awards 44 Women & Babies Program 18 In tribute 45 Odette Cancer Program 20 Board of Directors 46 Schulich Heart Program 26 Governing Council 48 Research 30 Counsel 50 St. John’s Rehab Program 34 Advancement Committee 50 Veterans & Community 36 Sunnybrook Next Generation 50 Program Thank you to our donors 51 Community 38 Every day at Sunnybrook I see evidence of life-changing work, whether Holland Musculoskeletal 39 Program it’s a world-first procedure, the safe delivery of a premature baby or a groundbreaking discovery in one of our laboratories. Our team of experts is committed to inventing the future of healthWhen care, a today. young woman can This commitment means we are constantlyescape pushing the the frontiers devastation of research, developing innovative therapies and putting leading-edge technology to of stroke. the test. As a result, we are able to provide our patients with new options for diagnosis and treatment that were previously impossible – options that are minimally invasive, more precise, cause fewerWhen side-effects a baby and born save more months lives. All of this is possible because of our strongtoo partnership early with can Sunnybrook defy Foundation and our community of donors.the It is yourodds generosity and thatsurvive. supports our hard work and accomplishments, and it is your belief in us that drives us forward. The Foundation’s annual report celebrates philanthropy and volunteer leadership, vital engines pushingWhen us to achievea cancer our strategic patient imperatives. Every accomplishment highlightedcan bein this treated report is evidence of your dedication to the hospital. without life-crushing On behalf of the Sunnybrook team – the physicians,side-effects. surgeons, nurses, researchers, fellows, residents and others – thank you for your continued interest, encouragement and support. When everything is on the line. When we need Barry A. McLellan, md, frcpc you the most, President and Chief Executive Officer sunnybrook health sciences centre you are there. When a young woman can escape the devastation of stroke. When a baby born months too early can defy the odds and survive. When a cancer patient can be treated without life-crushing side-effects. When everything is on the line. When we need you the most, you are there. Leadership message 2015 Report from Perry Dellelce to Donors and Jon Dellandrea At Sunnybrook, our experts are bringing set the pace with a lead gift, and a group Thank to life exciting new innovations that will of founding donors stepped up to bring change the way we treat the most devas- the project closer to fruition. You tating illnesses. But they are not doing it Thanks to the commitment of Soham alone. You are helping them make history. and Shaila Ajmera, Sunnybrook is also Just a few months ago, Sunnybrook set to create Canada’s most advanced Great advances scientists were the first in the world to centre for prostate care. Here, our rarely happen in use focused ultrasound to breach the experts will employ state-of-the-art isolation. Most blood-brain barrier and successfully diagnostic methods, provide compre- often, they are deliver chemotherapy directly into a hensive treatment and conduct vital the result of patient’s brain tumour. Cancer patient research that will influence the lives of Bonny Hall selflessly and bravely volun- men around the world. relentless pursuit, teered to be the first human to ever have We are grateful for your philanthropy unwavering this procedure done, even though she and your passion for our work. dedication and knew it would not improve her own out- Sunnybrook Foundation plays a vital come. This groundbreaking therapy was visionary support. role in supporting the hospital to realize made possible through private funding. its strategic imperatives. As stewards of Another case in point: thanks to the your investment in Sunnybrook, we hold E. & G. Odette Foundation, the Odette ourselves to the highest level of account- Cancer Centre will be the first Canadian ability. This commitment has earned us site to acquire the Gamma Knife Icon. top rankings in 2015 from Money Sense This technology will allow our specialists magazine. We invite you to view our to provide precision brain radiation audited financial statements online at treatment with the fewest possible side- sunnybrook.ca/foundation/statements. effects to a broader group of patients, The future of health care is in all of extending survival and improving our hands. Together, through the quality of life in a way that was not generosity of donors and volunteers, possible just a few years ago. the commitment of our scientists and Momentum is strong as we gain contin- health-care professionals, and the trust ued support for our new Hurvitz Brain of our patients and their families, we Sciences Centre, a physical home for our are transforming lives. Thank you for uniquely collaborative, life-changing your support. work at the intersection of psychiatry, neurology, neurosurgery and other brain sciences. The Hurvitz Family Foundation Yours truly, Jon Dellandrea and Perry Dellelce in the E.& G. Odette Foundation Gamma Knife Icon Suite, one of three Cancer Ablation Therapy Program suites whose construction would not be possible without donor support. Behind them are lead bricks that will block radiation. Perry Dellelce Dr. Jon S. Dellandrea, C.M. Chair, President & CEO, Sunnybrook Foundation Sunnybrook Foundation Board of Directors 2 3 “I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew it was bad. Because of Sunnybrook, I’m alive to tell my story.” When Yana Matveyeva suffered from a stroke, doctors at Sunnybrook were in a race against time to save her from permanent brain damage. Only an innovative new treatment made it possible. 4 5 “We knew we might have to let him go. Sunnybrook gave our whole family the strength to pull through.” Born 17 weeks early, Heather Radford’s son Gage had to fight for his life. Thanks to hands-on family support and state-of-the-art care at Sunnybrook, he’s now home and thriving with his family. 6 7 “Cancer doesn’t care how many times it touches your family. But Sunnybrook cared when it happened to us.” Three members of Duane Smith’s family have been impacted by cancer. Sunnybrook has played an important role in helping each of them win the fight. 8 9 Because disease doesn’t wait while we search for a cure. And trauma doesn’t worry how much time we have to spare. Because families are hoping for the people they love to come home soon. And every new discovery that we make today holds the promise of many more lives transformed tomorrow. That’s why when we are counted on to save a life, we count on you. 10 11 Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program A race against the clot Yana Matveyeva A few hours earlier, Yana had returned It was two in the morning when from grocery shopping and was neurosurgeon Dr. Victor Yang, was terrified. The unloading her bags when she collapsed. neuroradiologist Dr. Peter Howard 20-year-old college Her friend found her on the floor, and a team of specialists set to work, student was lying on unable to move or speak, and called knowing that they were up against a gurney surrounded 911 immediately. the clock. by nurses and doctors. She didn’t The ambulance took Yana to Yana faced multiple hurdles. Sunnybrook where she was diagnosed understand what was She couldn’t understand what was with an ischemic stroke caused by happening. One thing happening because both her speech and a blood clot in the brain. In a time- was clear to her: language comprehension were affected sensitive health crisis such as Yana’s, by the stroke. she was in trouble. quick diagnosis and treatment are essential to saving as much brain She couldn’t be sedated because the function as possible. doctors couldn’t risk the time to insert a breathing tube and this procedure Doctors immediately gave Yana tissue would have increased her blood pressure. plasminogen activator (tPA), also known as a clot buster. It didn’t work because She was petrified and kept moving Yana Matveyeva her clot was too large. around, making it difficult for the doctors to thread the tube through her. If this had happened six months earlier, Yana might not have survived the stroke The clot had broken in two so the or may have ended up with severe brain medical team had to find and retrieve damage and paralysis. But there was a not one, but two clots. new, innovative treatment available at At 4:13 a.m., the second clot was Sunnybrook: endovascular treatment, removed. The endovascular treatment which, in clinical trials, has been had been successful. shown to reduce the overall mortality rate of stroke patients by 50 per Yana has almost fully recovered. She cent. Sunnybrook was one of 22 sites is mobile and talking in both English worldwide that participated in the study. and Russian again. She is grateful that Sunnybrook offered this cutting- Endovascular treatment is performed by edge treatment. inserting a thin tube into an artery in the groin and feeding it through the body’s “About a month after I left the blood vessels to the clot in the brain. hospital, I saw some friends, and This is done using advanced imaging they couldn’t believe I’d had a stroke. guidance. The clot is then secured and This endovascular treatment is a pulled out, restoring blood flow to the miracle.