Page 15 - Sphere No.16 (Apr 2006)

IT IS 18 DEGREES CELSIUS below freezing as night falls on
inner-city Toronto. A group of men sink deep into their tat-
tered fleeces as they struggle to stay warm. An icy January
wind cuts into their faces. Some are seriously ill or addicts.
Others have fallen on hard times and are simply home-
less. Welcome to the heartland of St Michael’s Hospital, a
remarkable Canadian institution that is part social worker,
part doctor and part research scientist. Whether it is offer-
ing a hot meal, a shower and a clean, safe bed or long-term
research into kidney disease, the Urban Angel, as it is known
throughout the city, is part of Toronto’s human safety net.
“We go into parts of the city and provide health care services
where other people do not want to go,” said Jeffrey Lozon, the
hospital’s President and CEO. “And we have been doing it for
nearly 120 years and have never turned anyone away. People
know us. They trust us. We are a haven for people whose home
is the street or the park bench. People who are
outside the system with no medical insurance
and no money can come to us. We deal with both
human and health problems without judging the
circumstances people find themselves in. We are
unique. We combine the compassion of a value-
based organisation with the science of the teach-
ing hospital.”
St Michael’s is a teaching hospital affiliated with
the University of Toronto. It has more than 5,000
staff, with 600 doctors teaching 1,600 students.
Impressive numbers but what makes the hospital
so special is its work with the city’s most vulnerable citizens,
the victims of homelessness, poverty, disease, drug abuse, men-
tal illness and violence. The hospital, founded in 1892 during a
diptheria epidemic, is recognised globally as a research leader
in inner-city health.
This makes it a worthy recipient of a CAD25 million
(USD21.7 million) donation from the Li Ka Shing (Canada)
Foundation. The gift will be used to establish the Li Ka Shing
Knowledge Institute, which will bring together the worlds of
research, education and patient care. The institute will be the
first of its kind to bridge the gulf of understanding separating
education from research and research from front line health
care. The gift is the largest single donation ever received by the
teaching hospital and construction of the institute is scheduled
for completion in 2009.
“The Knowledge Institute is a new idea,” saidMr Lozon. “It will
allow us to create an incubator of knowledge. It will
take the scientists out of the lab and put them in
the front line so they see, feel and touch the people
who are afflicted by a range of diseases. We will be
able to attract the best and brightest in a wide range
of disciplines. We are creating a living laboratory
that can be both a molecular lab and a lab in the
street. This will allow us to get the science to the pa-
tient faster. Think how many lives you might save.
It’s a very exciting project. We are deeply grateful
for the confidence being placed in us.”
The existing Centre for Research on Inner
PHOTO ABOVE: THE GLOBE AND MAIL SPHERE 13
The Knowledge
Institute will
take the
scientists out
of the lab and
put them in
the front line
St Michael’s works with the city’s
most vulnerable citizens.
Facing page: The statue of St Michael
the Archangel symbolises the
hospital’s spirit and commitment.