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The Mississauga News
|
Nov 15, 2007 - 8:14 AM
|

What's in a name? About $2M!

Should hospital facilities be named for religious or cultural icons because minority communities raise significant amounts of money to pay for them?
That's the question Trillium Health Centre's board of directors will be faced with later this month when it decides whether to give the hospital's new fracture clinic, slated to open in January, the unconventional (by Canadian standards) name of "Om."
That Sanskrit word, which symbolizes unity and omniscience for Hindus, is the name being put forward by the city's South Asian community, which is in the process of raising $2 million towards the cost of the clinic.
Local hospital facilities have traditionally been named for generous benefactors in the past, such as Harold Shipp and Col. Harland Sanders at Trillium and Carlo Fidani at Credit Valley Hospital. In fact, Trillium's current policy supports that approach.
Dennis Cartwright, chair of the Trillium Foundation, said naming the new facility the Om Fracture Clinic may raise some eyebrows but there's no escaping the changing nature of Mississauga's cultural makeup.
It makes sense that as the face of the GTA changes, so will the institutions that support communities, especially as more ethnic groups get involved in fundraising.
"That's why we need to have a policy in place," said Cartwright, "to have a way of consistently evaluating these requests and ensuring we handle them appropriately and with sensitivity, given our multicultural society and recognizing the names do go on a public institution."

SMITHS FALLS - Town staff said they surveyed areas around group homes in town for one or two days, and has been monitoring traffic.

VIA Rail station slated to open at the end of the year

SMITHS FALLS - By the end of this year, Smiths Falls will have a new, fully-accessible VIA Rail station.

Kourier-Standard Staff | Mar 03

Best in the business honoured at People’s Choice Awards

KANATA - Ottawa’s west-end businesses gathered at the Kanata Chamber of Commerce...