Family donates $10M to Toronto hospital, hopes to inspire others to give back

A Toronto couple with a history of philanthropy for causes near and dear to their heart is challenging others to step up for healthcare investments in the city’s west end.

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George and Rayla Myhal announced a $10 million gift for St. Joseph’s Health Centre this week and are rallying interested donors to help match that amount in an effort to build community and inspire others to give back generously.

That means a $20 million goal for the health centre to help fund additional space and offer further health services for Toronto’s growing population.

“St. Joe’s is more than just a community hospital to us,” Rayla Myhal said in a statement. “I worked in the old labour and delivery department on the fifth floor of the Morrow Wing as a young nursing student over 30 years ago. At that time, the facilities were modest, but the care provided by the incredible staff was truly exceptional.”

The hospital, located on The Queensway just west of Roncesvalles Ave., currently provides a birthing centre named after the Myhal family and a neonatal intensive care unit. It also offers clinics for emergency and critical care, seniors, women, children, mental health and addictions, and surgery and oncology as well as on-site laboratory and diagnostic imaging services and a pharmacy.

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The money will help the hospital, which has been serving the healthcare needs of Toronto’s west end for more than a century, by investing in its expansion.

“St. Joe’s is a cornerstone of this community, but its facilities have reached capacity,” said Rayla Myhal. “It’s time to create new spaces that reflect the extraordinary care happening inside these walls. George and I want to inspire the community to give generously.”

Three years ago, the provincial government announced more than $1 billion in funding to construct a new patient care tower on the southeast corner of the hospital.

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It will feature an expanded emergency department and new spaces for operating rooms, intensive care unit and medical, surgical and mental health inpatient programs.

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In addition, the hospital plans to add more than 100 new beds, update infrastructure and enhance services to support the surrounding community.

Maria Dyck, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation, said the new wing will also allow the hospital to move its inpatient care into the new facility.

“Because our hospital is over 100 years old and we have some facilities here that were opened in the 1930s, we are very urgently needing additional care spaces that are designed to meet the needs of people today,” she said.

The money being raised right now will go towards outfitting the additional wing with new equipment and furniture.

Dyck said the family has been longtime supporters of the health centre who volunteer and give generously, adding this challenge match is the largest in the hospital’s history.

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George Myhal served on the St. Joseph’s Promise Campaign Cabinet, which raised more than $100 million, while his wife joined the St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation Board in 2023. Their daughter Asha was born in the Garron Family Our Lady of Mercy Wing, which opened in 2012.

The couple has also actively supported the foundation’s Cycle 4 St. Joe’s fundraising event, which inspires participants with a $50,000 matching challenge. They have donated to other cultural and social services as well.

“In these times, there are a lot of people doing extraordinary things in support of their own community,” Dyck said. “I think George and Rayla are such good examples of that. Really generous, leaning in early to be able to not only lend their support but encourage other people to join them.”

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