Investing in Hope: The Kassam Family Makes Transformative Gift to SickKids
$15 million investment in critical care initiatives at the hospital that saved their daughter’s life
A transformative investment of $15 million from the Moez & Marissa Kassam Equity Fund was announced today at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). This remarkable donation reflects the Kassam family’s deep gratitude for the lifesaving care their daughter Mikayla received in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) during a four-week admission last year.
“We are incredibly grateful for the world-class care Mikayla received at SickKids,” says Marissa Kassam, co-founder and Director of the Moez & Marissa Kassam Equity Fund. “This investment is our way of giving back and ensuring that other families have access to the same exceptional resources and expertise during their most challenging times.”
The newly named Moez & Marissa Kassam Equity Fund Paediatric Intensive Care Unit was unveiled at a ceremony today in recognition of this extraordinary investment, which will help advance SickKids’ vision of Healthier Children. A Better World.
“This investment is our way of giving back and ensuring that other families have access to the same exceptional resources and expertise during their most challenging times.”
The investment will benefit the Critical Care Medicine program by establishing several key initiatives:
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The Kassam Family Chair and Fellowship in Neurocritical Care: This will attract world-renowned experts to SickKids, driving groundbreaking research and knowledge translation with the potential to benefit children globally.
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Kassam Family Critical Care Award in Innovation: This will help to enhance the quality of care by funding early-stage paediatric research and fostering an environment of innovation and implementation.
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A dedicated PICU Nurse Practitioner: This will help ensure continuity of care for PICU patients and their families, addressing the long-term physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges they may face after hospitalization.
These initiatives represent an investment in expertise, innovation, and the future of critical care at SickKids.
Through the generosity of Moez and Marissa Kassam, the Department of Critical Care Medicine and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at SickKids will be able to attract and retain top tier faculty and trainees, advance the field of paediatric critical care medicine, and further our efforts to help ensure that the acute care we deliver leads to the best possible long-term outcomes for patients and families.
This kind of opportunity is unique in paediatric critical care and we are deeply grateful for the opportunities that the Kassam family will make possible,” said Dr. Steven Schwartz, Chief, Department of Critical Care Medicine, SickKids.
“As a parent, I can’t imagine anything more difficult that seeing your child go through a critical illness,” says Moez Kassam, co-founder and Director of the Moez & Marissa Kassam Equity Fund. “We are committed to supporting SickKids in their mission to provide the best possible care for all children, and hope this investment will help give other families the same hope and comfort we received during Mikayla’s time here.”
Beyond these specific initiatives, the investment will also provide unrestricted support for SickKids’ highest priority needs, allowing the hospital to address urgent needs as they arise, whether through vital clinical research, essential equipment, or innovative technologies.
“Giving of this nature and magnitude will have transformational implications here at SickKids, which is why we are truly grateful for the support Moez and Marissa have shown the Hospital,” says Jennifer Bernard, President and CEO, SickKids Foundation. “It is an incredible experience when visionary philanthropists like the Kassam’s share our appreciation for the level of expertise at SickKids after a first-hand experience, furthering their belief in our mission. Their generous donation towards the PICU will keep the organization on the cutting edge of what is possible, elevating our leadership within the field, while unleashing the full potential of SickKids’ critical care experts.”
The SickKids Critical Care Medicine program is under the auspices of the Department of Critical Care Medicine, and encompasses the PICU, the Cardiac Critical Care Unit (CCCU) and Critical Care Response Team (CCRT). The program is one of the most advanced in the world, with exceptional outcomes for patients. The PICU itself is the largest in Canada, providing complex, multidisciplinary care for many different patient populations who not only come from the Greater Toronto Area, but to receive quaternary level of care from across the province of Ontario and throughout Canada to receive care. The CCCU, distinguished as the first critical care unit in Canada dedicated to the care of infants and children with heart disease, sees more than 800 patients a year from around the world. SickKids performs 60 per cent of Canada’s paediatric heart transplants and 89 per cent of Ontario’s complex paediatric heart surgeries, with almost all of these patients cared for by the CCCU team.
The Critical Care Medicine program is also renowned for its global influence. The residency and fellowship programs train critical care physicians, paediatric residents and sub-specialist trainees every year. Many trainees come from other countries, and bring the knowledge gained at SickKids back home, improving paediatric care globally. The program has trained more than 300 physicians, who now provide care in all five continents, many of whom are leaders in their chosen fields.
About the Moez & Marissa Kassam Equity Fund
The Moez & Marissa Kassam Equity Fund is a private foundation committed to creating a more equitable society by investing in initiatives that break down barriers and empower individuals to reach their full potential. The fund focuses on strategic philanthropy, carefully assessing opportunities, measuring impact, and seeking to maximize its return on investment – not just financially, but in terms of social progress and human potential. This approach represents a new wave of philanthropy, one that is data-driven, results-oriented, and focused on creating systemic change.
