Hamilton’s health-care sector received a multi-million dollar Valentine’s Day gift from philanthropists Charles and Margaret Juravinski.
On Monday the pair donated $5.1 million to the Juravinski Research Institute, a partnership between Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.
The investment will support studies focused on child and youth health, integrated care, and burn trauma.
“We’ve had more than 65 Valentine’s Days together, and we’ve received more than our share of chocolates and flowers over the years,” Margaret and Charles Juravinski said in a statement.
“Recently, we’ve loved learning about how the gifts we are making are quite literally changing the lives of people in our city and across the country. Valentine’s Day is a beautiful opportunity for us to show our love for Hamilton and its robust community of talented, innovative health researchers and practitioners.”
The JRI was established in May 2019 via a $100-million estate gift — one of Canada’s largest-ever legacy gifts.
In recent times, the Hamilton philanthropists have invested in research focused on COVID-19, brain health and health system transformation with two previous gifts totalling $6.3 million.
Those donations included $3.3 million to help fight COVID-19 and fund brain health research as well as $3 million for health -care projects, including a saliva-based COVID-19 test for use in places like seniors in retirement homes.
“We know the health system can be challenging to navigate and has been under incredible pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Julian Dobranowski of the Juravinski Research Institute steering committee.
“We know that burn trauma has significant impacts on a survivor’s mental and physical health. And we know that our children and youth have struggled, especially during the last two years. That’s why these three areas were selected as strategic priorities for this new gift.”