(Burnaby, BC) Burnaby Hospital Foundation is honoured to announce an impactful donation of $100,000 from TD Bank Group towards the hospital’s Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) Unit. With a remarkable commitment towards the health of their community, TD’s latest gift is one of the largest towards the hospital’s Mental Health services.
TD is committed to supporting Mental Health programming in the East Vancouver and Burnaby region, noting the importance of improving the community through supporting this crucial area of the hospital. A reception acknowledging their generous contribution was held at Burnaby Hospital on October 23, which was attended by TD executives and Foundation and Mental Health leadership. The Foundation also celebrated the gift with the unveiling of the naming of the TD Multi‐sensory Room, part of the first phase of Burnaby Hospital’s redevelopment project.
“There’s a critical need for more mental health resources in the Lower Mainland, which is why we’re so proud to support the creation of a new multi‐sensory room at Burnaby Hospital,” said Julie Armour, Senior Vice President and Pacific Region Head, TD Bank Group. “Through the TD Ready Commitment, our corporate citizenship platform, we’re continuing our investments in innovative solutions that are focused on helping to make equitable healthcare accessible for all.”
With the first phase of the redevelopment scheduled to be completed in 2025, increased mental health services will soon be available in Burnaby. The upgraded MHSU unit is addresses one vital need after the 2020 fire that destroyed the department’s facilities, requiring a temporary retrofit of another unit to serve MHSU needs.
The purposefully‐designed MHSU unit will include a Multi‐sensory Room, a specially‐designed room that helps control sensory stimulation, allowing a therapeutic and educative approach to treatment. Benefits of this room includes immediate effects on stress, mood and energy. This room also provides a way for staff and patients to work together and use new tools and strategies to manage these important factors of mental health in their daily lives. Hospital staff already have expressed excitement to have access to a Multisensory Room to help practice mindfulness and being in the moment and to supplement the medication‐based treatment overseen by doctors and nurses.
“TD’s significant donation towards the hospital’s mental health services will have a noticeable impact on the therapies enabled by a new multi‐sensory room,” explains Kristy James, Burnaby Hospital Foundation President and CEO. “The use of sensory intervention has been a growing practice, many times used in informal spaces. Our donors have enabled us to build the fourth such room in the region.”
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the hospital and its patients, Kristy continues. “Last year, the hospital saw over 1,000 patients needing the services of our MHSU, a growing concern in our community.”
Construction of the first phase of redevelopment, which will expand and modernize emergency care, surgery, maternity and mental health services at the hospital, is set to be completed as soon as 2025. The recently announced second phase brings expanded medical services to the hospital, including upgrades to the Intensive Care Unit and Medical Imaging, as well as new Cardiac Telemetry and In‐ patient Oncology Units. When the entire redevelopment project is complete, the new campus of care will have almost 50% more beds, including two patient care towers and a cancer treatment centre.
To learn more about the redevelopment of Burnaby Hospital, visit bhfoundation.ca/brightfuture
