$6 million gift for The Jay & Barbara Hennick Family Wellness Centre
NEWS RELEASE: November 26, 2013
Toronto - Mount Sinai Hospital is pleased to announce that Jay and Barbara Hennick have made a generous new $6 million gift that will support a new healing and respite area of the hospital where patients and their families, visitors and staff can visit and experience an oasis of tranquility that will further strengthen the patient experience. The gift follows previous gifts totalling $1.5 million dollars to establish a state-of-the art security command centre to ensure the safety of patients and staff within the hospital. Envisioned as an intersection between art and wellness, The Jay & Barbara Hennick Family Wellness Centre will feature artworks by Sorel Etrog, one of Canada’s most preeminent artists, who has made an unprecedented donation comprised of many of his most esteemed works to the Hospital.
The new wellness centre will be built on the north end of the main lobby of the Hospital and will be encased with floor-to-ceiling windows surrounded by outdoor patios exposing pedestrians walking along University Avenue to its beauty, and allowing patients and families natural light and a connection to the outdoors. The new space, scheduled to open in early 2015 is part of The Campaign to Renew Sinai, the largest campaign in the Hospital’s history, which will see the transformation of its facilities and growth of its internationally recognized research and flagship clinical programs.
The concept of a wellness centre as a part of the healing process is based on extensive research demonstrating that stress and psychosocial factors can significantly affect patient health outcomes and support their families at difficult times. “We know that there is no health without mental health, and the new Jay & Barbara Hennick Family Wellness Centre will strengthen the physical, emotional, mental, social, environmental and spiritual health for our patients and their families,” says Molyn Leszcz, Chief, Psychiatry, Mount Sinai Hospital.
Quotes:
“Barbara and I are thrilled to carry on the tradition of a vital community of donors that came before us and who have made Mount Sinai Hospital the centre of excellence it is today. I invite others to join us, as we work together to re-imagine the future of health care at Mount Sinai Hospital in the years to come.” Jay Hennick, Chair of the Board, Mount Sinai Hospital.
“We are incredibly grateful to Jay and Barbara for their gift today and their leadership at Mount Sinai helps to inspires all of us.” Brent Belzberg, Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation Management Board & Governing Council Chairman, who also co-chairs the Hospital’s Renew Sinai campaign.
“The Jay and Barbara Hennick Wellness Centre will serve as an example of our progressive and holistic approach to medicine and our commitment to positively impacting the patient experience and clinical outcomes.” Joseph Mapa, President and CEO, Mount Sinai Hospital.
About the Donor:
A strong leader in the business and philanthropic communities, Jay Hennick has been deeply involved in Mount Sinai’s growth. He is currently the Chair of Mount Sinai Hospital’s Board of Directors and Co-Chairs the cabinet for The Campaign to Renew Sinai with Foundation Chair, Brent Belzberg. He is the Founder and CEO of publicly-traded FirstService Corporation, a global leader in the real estate services sector including Colliers International and FirstService Residential. For more information about Jay Hennick, go to www.firstservice.com . Barbara Hennick, a chartered accountant, leader and philanthropist, is past president of the Mount Sinai Hospital Auxiliary and former Chairman of the Audit Committee of Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation. She also serves as President of the Jay and Barbara Hennick Family Foundation.
About the Artist:
Award winning artist Sorel Etrog is a true Canadian treasure. Spanning a career of over 50 years Etrog represented Canada at the 1966 Venice Biennale. He received many important commissions including EXPO ‘67, Sunlife Centre Toronto, and Olympic Park Seoul Korea. In 1968, he designed the Canadian Film Award. He has illustrated books by Ionesco and Beckett, and his film Spiral was shown on CBC in 1975. Etrog was appointed Member of the Order of Canada in 1994 and was made a Chevalier of Arts and Letters by the Government of France in 1996. His work presides in an astounding number of permanent collections including the Tate Museum in London, the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon Guggenheim in New York, the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Musée National d’Art Modern in Paris, The Israeli Museum, The Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada.
- 30 –
For interviews and high resolution images, see media contacts below.
Sally Szuster
Senior Manager, Communications and Public Affairs
Mount Sinai Hospital
Telephone: 416-586-4800 ext. 8713
Email: [email protected]
Riva Finkelstein
Senior Specialist, Media Relations and Public Affairs
Mount Sinai Hospital
Telephone: 416-586-4800 ext. 8306
Email: [email protected]
