Personalized care at the London Health Sciences Centre is getting a significant financial boost.
The London Health Sciences Centre’s Auxiliary made a $2.24-million pledge to the Personalized Medicine Program on Thursday.
The money will go to support laboratory positions, the purchase of key technology for genomic diagnostics, and training initiatives.
“Personalized medicine increases patient safety and quality-of-care. The LHSC Auxiliary’s donation will help transform the model of care at London Health Sciences Centre and eventually worldwide by incorporating personalized gene testing as a part of patient care," says Dr. Richard Kim, chair and chief of clinical pharmacology at the London Health Sciences Centre.
The program focuses on understanding the genetic differences between individuals and, in doing so, providing the right dose of the right medicine at the right time for every patient.
This isn't the first sizeable donation made by the Auxiliary. In 1999, the group of volunteers pledged $5-million towards hospital redevelopment. It was the largest pledge ever from a hospital auxiliary in Canada.