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Sound of Caring is Doubly Jazzed About the Successful Conclusion of the $35 Million Stand By Me Campaign and Raising $100,000 for the New Paediatric Operating Room

TORONTO, February 21, 2004 — Over 1,400 people attended the Sound of Caring fundraising concert for North York General Hospital's state-of-the-art paediatric operating room on Saturday, February 21. The evening featured 'Songs from the Heart' from award-winning jazz songstress Holly Cole at the North York Centre for the Arts. The North York General Hospital's Foundation also thanked and congratulated the community for their generosity in helping raise over $35 million for the Stand By Me campaign.

Sound of Caring, presented by RBC Financial Group, will help equip the Hospital's new operating room designated for children's surgery.

"To perform surgery on children you need smaller instruments. You also need smaller cameras to ensure surgeries are minimally invasive," says June Shaw, Chair of Sound of Caring and a member of the Hospital's Governors' Council. "North York General Hospital performs about 4,400 surgeries on children each year. The equipment, environment, as well as specially trained staff, is all designed to decrease a child's anxiety as much as possible."

Sound of Caring also featured Dr. David White, Chief of Family Medicine at North York General Hospital. Dr White added his musical talents to the concert with some old style blues; a special rendition of Ben E. King's hit Stand By Me and an instrumental acoustic guitar number.

The concert also celebrates the successful conclusion of the Stand By Me Campaign which raised over $35 million towards the $127 million expansion of the Hospital. In October 2003, North York General Hospital officially opened the new Southeast Tower, a 230,000-sq. ft. expansion of the Hospital's Leslie Street site.

"Tonight we're jazzed. This is a celebration of four years of hard work by the campaign cabinet and the 250 volunteers and staff who kept us on our toes. More importantly, we're here to thank the community for standing by us with their support. Their generosity helped the hospital build, furnish and equip the Hospital's new southeast tower. Thank you from the bottom of my heart," says Ingrid Perry Peacock, President and CEO of the North York General Hospital Foundation.

North York General Hospital is a multi-site teaching hospital in north central Toronto, and is affiliated with the University of Toronto. A leader in shaping health care for the tomorrow, North York General Hospital offers a wide range of clinical services in nine program areas: Emergency Services; Family and Community Medicine; Genetics; Long Term Care; Maternal Newborn Services; Medical Services; Mental Health; Paediatrics and Surgical Services.

Contact:
Destiny Pickford
Media Relations and Communications Coordinator
Phone:(416) 756-6693
Email: dpickfor@nygh.on.ca