Stanley Cup champion Nazem Kadri has unveiled a major donation in support of the London Health Sciences Centre’s Ambulatory Surgical Centre.
The London-born hockey star is contributing $1 million in support of the surgical centre, which is being renamed in his honour, officials with the London Health Sciences Foundation (LHSF) said.
The foundation notes in a statement that Kadri’s foundation, before the centre opened in 2020, “donated the lead gift needed to propel this project forward.”
“This journey to support the Surgical Centre started over five years ago with a conversation between Dr. Lawendy, my father and I on the impact a centre like this could have on patients,” Kadri said in a statement, referring to Dr. Abdel-Rahman Lawendy, the surgical centre’s medical lead.
“I am honoured to be part of this project and to give back to the community that has given so much to my family and I over the years.”
Located across from LHSC’s Victoria Hospital campus along Base Line Road, the newly renamed Nazem Kadri Surgical Centre provides patients requiring low-risk, less complex surgeries with an alternate operating location outside of the hospital, LHSF says.
Patients whose surgeons have deemed them low-risk can receive foot procedures, ankle, hip and knee arthroscopies and ACL repairs, LHSF says.
In a 2020 media release, LHSC said the focus of the facility, then dubbed the Surgi-Centre, was orthopedic and sports medicine surgeries considered low-risk.
The centre, which has two operating rooms and a 10-bed pre/post-operative recovery suite, has provided care to more than 3,800 patients since it first opened, Lawendy said in a statement.
“The opportunity to provide patients with this innovative model of care is remarkable and people are taking notice,” Lawendy’s statement read.
“However, to continue providing this care and increase patient capacity, donor funding like the gift from Nazem Kadri, is integral to the centre’s future.”
Plans are in the works to potentially open a third operating room at the surgical centre.
Earlier this year, LHSC unveiled a $10-million funding boost from the province in support of the next phase of the surgical centre project.
The announcement comes nearly two weeks after Kadri brought the Stanley Cup home to London, which saw Kadri and the cup paraded from the London Muslim Mosque to Victoria Park.
Kadri won the Stanley Cup last season with the Colorado Avalanche and had a career year in assists (59) and points (87) in his third and final season with the team, while his 28 goals were the second-best total of his career.
The 31-year-old signed a seven-year, US$49-million deal with the Calgary Flames last week.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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