It’s been just over two years since Sinai Health Foundation embarked on an unprecedented campaign to establish the Centre for Mature Women’s Health.
Our vision? Create a world-leading Centre to address the gaps and inequities that exist in care and research related to women’s health and drive a transformative shift in the way health care is delivered to women throughout their lives.
We recently announced an exciting investment that will help turn our vision for the Centre into a reality. This generous $25-million gift will help us build the physical space to house the Centre and expand our research, education and training programs to set a new standard for mature women’s health care in Canada and globally. Thanks to this gift and the tremendous generosity of our community, the Foundation has surpassed the $50-million fundraising goal in our campaign to establish the Centre.
But we’re just getting started.
Today, we want to share more details about the next steps in bringing this vision to life, the generous individuals who are making it possible, and how we hope to build on this momentum to continue helping more women access the care they deserve.
For Dr. Wendy Wolfman, the trailblazing physician who has dedicated her entire clinical and academic career to improving the lives of women, these steps to bring the Centre to life are a dream come true.
“It’s so exciting and we in Canada should be so proud that we will have a Centre like this because it will become a global example. I feel so gratified to see my life’s work realized,” says Dr. Wendy Wolfman, Director of the Weston and O’Born Centre for Mature Women’s Health and Inaugural Chairholder of the Carol Mitchell Chair in Menopause.
Our recent Hot and Bothered™ campaign brought awareness to the challenges women face as they navigate symptoms of menopause – a critical gap in mature women’s health care. But the aspiration of the Centre is bigger than just transforming menopause care. It aims to address the full spectrum of health challenges women face throughout their lifetime, bringing together a range of specialties to meet their diverse medical needs.
That’s why we’re integrating core programs that address concerns like abnormal uterine bleeding, urogynaecology, premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), vulvar disease and sexuality, as well as supporting programs that address mental health, osteoporosis, and breast disorders and cancer survivorship.
“Collaboration between different specialties, including gynecologists, internal medicine specialists and mental health experts, is key in offering holistic care for women experiencing menopause and related conditions,” says Dr. Marie Christakis, a Gyneacologist at Sinai Health and Clinical Lead at the Centre.
“Adopting an interdisciplinary care model could help us address not only the physical symptoms but also the mental, emotional, and sexual health aspects that often accompany menopause and POI. This investment in a dedicated, cutting-edge space will allow us to provide specialized care in a comfortable, supportive environment that fosters this kind of collaboration”.
Building a physical space for the Centre, made possible by the $25-million investment from The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation and Janice and Earle O’Born, will be an important step to expanding our clinical capacity and strengthening the departmental collaboration required to offer these comprehensive services. In recognition of this generosity, the Centre will be named the Weston and O’Born Centre for Mature Women’s Health.
Plans are already underway for how the physical space will come to life at 700 University Ave, a building where many of our women’s health clinics already exist that is just north of Mount Sinai Hospital. It will have 25,000 square feet of dedicated space and we expect that it will open within the next 18 to 24 months.
Once it is fully operational, the Centre will be the most comprehensive of its kind in the world. In addition to providing excellent clinical care, our work will help change standards for care delivery, train the next generation of care providers and conduct research with global reach.
This commitment to expanding research and education programs responds to other critical gaps faced by women in Canada and beyond. Seventy per cent of age-related diseases are affected by menopause, yet less than one per cent of preclinical studies consider menopause in their experimental setup1. When it comes to education, less than nine per cent of Canadian medical school programs adequately cover women's health and many health-care providers lack adequate training in menopause2.
The investment from The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation and the O’Born family will fuel research operations and expand education activities that seek to address these challenges, like establishing first-of-their-kind Chairs in emerging fields and expanding menopause training programs to equip health practitioners with the latest in treatments.
“We are so excited to continue expanding on the important educational initiatives we are leading to improve access to information and advance quality of care,” says Dr. Lindsay Shirreff, an Obstetrician and Gyneacologist at Sinai Health and Educational Lead for the Centre.
“We’ve already developed a website that is home to patient-facing, evidence-based information and interactive resources that receives more than 2,500 monthly visitors. This investment will be a catalyst that allows us to continue expanding these education efforts and breaking down information barriers for patients and their physicians.”
Since its inception nearly 100 years ago, Mount Sinai Hospital’s history has been undeniably shaped by the power of philanthropy. Our institution started from humble beginnings – a hospital built by a small group of women who saw the unmet health-care needs of their community and rallied together for change. Today, we are leading the charge to revolutionize mature women’s health care now, and for generations to come.
As we take these bold next steps, we are deeply grateful for our generous community who have answered our call to change the future of women’s health care in our city and beyond. We are particularly grateful to The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation and the O’Born family for their historic investment and to the two incredible women who were instrumental in making it happen: The Hon. Hilary M. Weston, C.M., C.V.O., O.Ont. and Janice O’Born C.M., O.Ont.
Mrs. O’Born is a member of the Foundation’s board of directors and is known as one of the most energetic volunteers in Toronto. The O’Borns have been passionate supporters of Sinai Health for almost a decade and have made incredible investments in nursing excellence, cutting-edge robotics equipment for complex reconstructive surgery, Sinai Health’s areas of greatest need, and now mature women’s health.
Mrs. Weston has made an enduring mark on Canadian history as a business leader, philanthropist, and public servant. During her tenure as lieutenant governor of Ontario, she championed causes such as health care, youth employment, volunteerism, education, and women’s empowerment. The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation’s support has reinforced this legacy of empowerment. A previous gift to help launch our Centre for Nursing Excellence equipped the institution to invest in nurse-led research and innovation, equipping frontline health workers with the support, knowledge, and resources required to provide the best care for their patients.
We are deeply grateful for their philanthropic leadership and commitment to improving access to life-changing care.
“I can’t believe we were able to surpass our fundraising goal in two and a half years – which really says a lot about how important this is for women,” says Dr. Wolfman. “I am so grateful to the people who have made it possible to achieve this goal, especially to the generous donors such as Mrs. Weston and Mrs. O’Born.”
We're sharing exciting details about our next steps towards creatinga world-leading Centre that will address the gaps and inequities that exist in care and research related to women’s health.
Even with more than 40 years of experience as a psychotherapist, Susan struggled to manage the physical and mental toll of menopause.
