News release - Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre
Catherine and David Hudson have pledged a record-setting $10 million to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s (RVH) Keep Life Wild campaign to support the expansion of the cancer centre.
In recognition of the family’s extraordinary generosity, the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre will be renamed the David and Catherine Hudson Regional Cancer Centre.
“The people of Simcoe Muskoka will be forever grateful to the Hudsons. This extraordinary gift is the lynchpin in our plan to revolutionize cancer care right here in our own backyard,” said RVH President and CEO Gail Hunt. “In our expanded cancer program, we will offer the very best in personalized, precise, and minimally invasive treatments delivered by highly trained specialists using the most advanced technology. This means our friends, neighbours and loved ones will be treated sooner, return home sooner, recover sooner, and get back to the life they love sooner.”
The landmark Hudson donation is the largest in the history of RVH and is the largest gift to a hospital in the history of Simcoe Muskoka. David Hudson sadly lost his sister Lara to a rare form of breast cancer at age 35. This personal loss was a motivation behind their groundbreaking gift, along with a commitment to inspiring others to support the hospital's larger expansion efforts.
“Those who love Simcoe Muskoka, as we do, should realize that, together, we all need to ensure world-class care is in place here,” Catherine Hudson said.
Added David Hudson: “It’s about recognizing that as this region doubles in size, we need to ensure that RVH and the services it provides meet that growth. For everyone who has the ability to give, now is the time.”
“Everything about this day is extraordinary, not only the magnitude of this gift, but the impact it will have on the lives of individuals and their families across this region.,” said RVH Foundation CEO Pamela Ross. “These selfless acts of generosity have the power to inspire others to do same. Because the proof of what generosity can achieve here in our community is undeniable.”
The Foundations Keep Life Wild campaign is designed to raise $100 million to help fund the Simcoe Muskoka regional health centre's planned expansion of the current site in Barrie, and to build a brand new facility in Innisfil. In addition to the expansion of the cancer centre, the larger redevelopment plan will ensure that RVH is able to continue to provide exceptional patient care, while also improving access for the region's residents for generations to come. The plan will add more than 240 beds, expand critical care, surgical suites, neonatal intensive care, urgent care and much more, enabling RVH to enhance almost every service it offers.
The importance of gifts, large and small, remains. Information on RVH’s expansion plans and how to give can be found atwww.KeepLifeWild.ca
Banner image supplied - L - R - David and Catherine Hudson
