St. Michael's Hospital

About Us

Hospital Milestones

October 2007 - We announce a $20 million contribution toward the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute. The funds, $15 million from the federal government and $5 million from private donors Arthur and Sonia Labatt, will support the Knowledge Institute. Slated to open in 2010, the new facility will focus on developing novel therapies and better ways to bring best practices and research discoveries to patient bedsides faster than ever before.

August 2007 - Dr. Alan Lossing becomes the first surgeon in the city to treat a potentially fatal aneurysm of both the chest and the abdomen using minimally invasive surgery that saw the patient released from hospital and walking within days.

November 2006 - We welcome the National Film Board of Canada and the Filmmaker in Residence project. Director Kat Cizek begins a two-year residency working alongside frontline doctors, nurses and researchers to create media for social change.

February 2006 - Dr. Robert Chisholm performs a North American first by implanting an antibody-coated stent into a cardiac patient. The stent - an innovation in cardiac technology - was developed by Dr. Michael Kutryk, also of St. Michael's Hospital.

November 2005 - We announce the inaugural Canadian donation of $25 million from the Li Ka Shing (Canada) Foundation (LKSCF) to establish the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute. The state of the art facility is scheduled for completion in 2010. It will house the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Centre in Health Care Education.

November 2005 - With a $13 million donation for the Keenan Research Centre, Toronto businessman Patrick Keenan and his wife Barbara's cumulative contributions to the Hospital's research practice have exceeded $25 million.

March 2005 - World's first gene therapy trial for pulmonary hypertension conducted.

February 2005 - First international surgical eye-care mission to the Philippines.

TIME Canada launches a special 20-page supplement that takes readers on an unforgettable two week long journey through the Hospital, following patients and staff through the emergency department and trauma room, the birth of a baby and a complex cardiac surgery.

January 2005 - First in North America, we develops a CIHR training program in the transdisciplinary approach to the health of marginalized populations.

November 2004 - The Fracture Clinic opens to better integrate care with the Martin Family Centre and create a one-stop shop for orthopedic care.

July 2004 - The first phase of a five-phase plan to implement Project Gemini, an electronic patient care system, begins. At the completion of the first phase, the Hospital is able to view patient results and diagnostic images with web technologies.

July 2004 - Renovations to expand the cardiovascular ICU to 18 beds are complete, building on the Hospital's capacity as Canada's largest provider of adult critical care beds.

June 2004 - The board approves the 2004 Strategic Plan, Reaching New Heights, which states that St. Michael's Hospital, through its culture of caring and discovery, will be Canada's finest academic health care provider.

November 2003 - Official opening of the Volunteer Association Helipad, one of only four rooftop hospital helipads in Ontario.

June 2003 - The Terence Donnelly Day Surgery Centre opens. The centre provides integrated perioperative services all on one floor and includes a 10-bed ambulatory recovery room, and 39 patient care areas designed to feel like a comfortable living room.

October 2002 - First International Conference on Inner City Health Research: Improving the Health of the Disadvantaged.

September 2001 - We are the first hospital in Canada to administer a camera capsule endoscopy procedure.

June 2000 - Our surgeons successfully complete Ontario's first live-donor kidney retrieval using minimally-invasive surgery.

January 2000 - Announcement of Canada's first cardiac gene therapy trial.

For the complete listing of Hospital Milestones (1892-2000), contact the public relations department at 416-864-5034.