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Leave a Legacy

London Free Press

London has many well-kept secrets, and one of the best-kept secrets is the passion which London’s health care providers bring to their vocations.

 

Recently Dr. Greg Carincross, head of London Regional Cancer Centre, Dr. Murray Girotti, head of London Health Sciences Centre, and Dr. Tim Frewen, of Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario, came together to share a message of how to make gifts for the future to support the continued excellence of health care in our community. These health leaders were inspiring as they spoke with passion about their service to the needs of the people of Southwestern Ontario.

 

From the proud traditions of cobalt therapy used with cancer patients, (London’s first for Canada back in 1951), to the world’s first closed chest robotic assisted cardiac bypass surgery on a beating heart preformed here at London’s Health Sciences Centre in September of 1999, to the recent role serving the needs of our community for the people of Walkerton during their water crisis, Londoners have much to be proud of within the London healthcare system.

 

For patient John Penner, the individual who made international headlines with being the first to experience the world’s first closed chest robotic assisted cardiac bypass surgery, the media attention was not as important as being able to be back on his farm north of London, four days after surgery.

 

London and southwestern Ontario are also unique in Canada because of the collaborative of partnerships that exist. From providing rural Doctors with Internet access and information technology, to sharing patients between London Regional Cancer Centre and London Health Sciences Centre to avoid the politics of larger centres and their hospital wars, London has uniquely collaborative healthcare system. Collaboration means efficiency in our healthcare community, and in London it is a community to be proud of.

 

Recently the White family, descendants of the Blackburn family, left a generous gift to London Health Sciences. They and many other philanthropists in London have set the stage for what all of us can be involved in; that is planning to make a contribution to London’s potential in the healthcare field. While few of us can come up with a million dollars, many of us through proper planned giving could make a huge difference. In fact, the people of southwestern Ontario are charitably minded, 86 percent support charity each and every year. And yet, only 9.5 percent have made arrangements a gift to charity in their will.

 

Giving through your will would allow you to make a significant difference. For example, if as a donor on the second death of you and your wife you were to leave the residual of your RRSP/RIF to a charity, 100%, every dollar would go to that charity because of new legislation created to provide an off setting receipt to your estate. In fact, under new legislation in the recent federal budget, you can name charities directly on your RIF and RRSP, rather than flowing the RRSP/RIF through your estate. This means that rather than leaving 50 cent dollars to your children and 50 cents to Revenue Canada, you could leave 100 cents to your favorite charity, and replace money that you are otherwise paying tax on with tax sheltered life insurance.

 

Another option using life insurance would be to prepay it with discounted dollars. That would allow you to take either a deduction today for the premiums, or take the take the deduction for your estate to offset other tax at death. You could also make a gift of property. It could be gifts of art, real estate or securities. The gifts of property would receive a tax receipt for the fair market value of the gift issued. The recent changes in the Income Tax Act Regulation would result in beneficial tax considerations, particularly for those who experience capital gains.

 

Laurel Gosnell, Senior Director of London Health Sciences Foundation, Planning Department, states that "left their own devices, 7 percent of Canadians would leave a gift to charity in their will or estate plan, but if they are asked by a charity 34 percent of Canadians would make a gift to charity in their will or estate." So seek out a charity you are passionate about and consider reviewing your will for the purpose of benefiting great organizations such as London’s medical centers.

 

Let’s support the caregivers that seek the best solutions, the scientists with their thirst for knowledge, and the next generation of healthcare professionals who will continue London’s tradition of healthcare excellence.