The Gaglardi family is donating $15-million to the new Patient Care Tower at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.
As part of that donation, the nine-storey patient care tower, which is currently under construction, will be named after Phil and Jennie Gaglardi. Their grandson, Tom, is part of the ownership group of the Kamloops Blazers as well as the Dallas Stars in the NHL.
Speaking during a ceremony Wednesday morning, Tom’s sister Andrea says the decision to donate to was actually made in 2019, adding they waited until now to make the announcement because of the pandemic.
“They sort of explained that there could be a potential deficit if this tower didn’t get built, and that their quality of care was not something they were not willing to compromise on,” she said. “It was an opportunity to be involved in a project that will truly benefit this area, and it just seemed like it was obvious we had to be involved.”
“When the team from Royal Inland Hospital came to see us back in 2019, we were so impressed by their goals and inspired for this tower. To now be standing in the atrium of the building…a lofty goal, but here it is a reality.”
Andrea adds it was emotional to sit and watch the announcement of the tower donation being made public as it is the largest donation ever in Kamloops history.
“The donation wasn’t about the name. Initially it was just to be involved in a really worthy cause. Later they came back and said why don’t we name the tower. And in using your name, we think we can gain some additional donations and benefits from your name being attached,” she said.
“And so as a family we had to decide that we were comfortable to have our name on it. And of course the only names possible would be Phil and Jennie.”
Phil Gaglardi – a former mayor of Kamloops from 1988 to 1990 – was also a Social Credit MLA in Kamloops from 1952 until 1972.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation, Heidi Coleman, says the money that’s been raised will go a long way when it comes to buying new equipment for the patient care tower.
“This community is amazing. This is a winning project. This is our hospital. We’ve just got one and we want to make it the best possible and we need things. And we need equipment to attract and retain staff,” she said.
“This is a bright sunny day, a great uplift for the community to know that Phil and Jennie Gaglardi family want to give back to the community where they started.”
Coleman told NL News it didn’t take much to convince the Gaglardi family to donate.
“Tom just said ‘you know what is it going to take to name the tower?’. He was interested. ‘What do you have to name?’ And we said, ‘it is $15 million’ and he said ‘okay, I’m going to think about it.’ And then he said, ‘come to a presentation.’ So we went down to Vancouver with Bob Gaglardi, his father, and all his sisters and brothers and Bob’s wife, and we pitched it and they said, okay. We’ll think about it,'” she recalled.
“And before we got back to Kamloops they called and said,’ okay we want to do it.'”
The RIH Foundation is still looking to raise another $10 million as part of the ongoing ‘Together We Rise’ campaign but Coleman thinks the donation from the Gaglardi’s will likely inspire more people in the Kamloops area to donate.
“People can give over four or five years. We’re taking pledges. You don’t have to give it all immediately,” she added.
“Every dollar counts and I know obviously not everyone can do $15 million. This is a unique story. This is what they call those transformational gifts. It is not for everybody, but there are people who can take away some zeros and definitely make a gift.”
Construction on the $417-million patient care tower – the largest capital project in the history of Kamloops – began in the fall of 2018.
Interior Health CEO Susan Brown says the new patient care tower is set to open in July 2022.
– With files from Colton Davies
The Gaglardi family in #Kamloops donating $15 million dollars to the Royal Inland Hospital new patient care tower, which will now be named after Phil + Jenny Gaglardi. That’s almost half of the $35M the RIH Foundation has been looking to raise: @RadioNLNews pic.twitter.com/J9Mf1OdAsU
— Colton Davies (@ColtonDavies_) November 3, 2021
