Four top children's hospitals across Canada announce significant new funding for life-saving child health research and family support programs from HSBC

** Hospitals in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec to receive contributions from HSBC's global US$150m community fund **

VANCOUVER, Sept. 28, 2015 /CNW/ - BC Children's Hospital Foundation (BCCHF), Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation (ACHF), SickKids Foundation, and Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation (MCHF) announced today they will each receive a significant amount of new funding for life-saving child health research and support for families across the country from HSBC Bank Canada.

BCCHF: Medical research, equipment and child development services
New support from HSBC will allow more than 200 scientists and researchers at BC Children's Hospital's research facility to conduct specialized research into illnesses that affect children. Close links between the research institute and the hospital mean that families benefit directly as better treatments and cures are discovered.

HSBC funding will also help purchase and upgrade specialized medical equipment for children and youth, and help children receiving development and rehabilitation services through the Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children.

Christine Pinette, mother of five-year-old Gabrielle said: "The teams at BC Children's Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children have been a lifeline for my daughter. As she recovered from brain surgery and a stroke, the technology support devices were critical for Gabrielle's recovery from such a traumatic situation.  I can't imagine how she would be today without the team at Sunny Hill and the tools they provide."

ACHF: Alberta Births Common Dataset Study and family supports program
Alberta has the highest provincial incidence of premature births in the country, and ACHF is working hard to understand this concerning trend. The Alberta Births Common Dataset Study is one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies in Canada examining child development from before birth into early childhood. 

Dr. Nicole Letourneau, Palix/ACHF Chair in Parent-Infant Mental Health, said: "Being able to follow families and children over many years will help us understand and ultimately learn how to prevent child health issues, such as behaviour and cognitive problems in children with ADHD.  The HSBC funding will also help families through challenging times – providing low-income and financially distressed families with accommodation, meals, childcare, and self-care."

SickKids: research grants, palliative care and patient amenities
The HSBC Bank Canada Catalyst Research Grants will enable researchers, clinicians, and educators across SickKids to seize upon their most innovative ideas – ideas that can have a major impact on the future of children.

Dr. Michael Salter, Chief of Research at SickKids said: "Securing funding for the earliest stages of innovative research can be challenging, but it is critical as this type of work has the potential to lead to new knowledge and novel treatments. Enabling our researchers to chase new ideas is the catalyst for transforming the future of children's health."

HSBC funding will also support the SickKids Paediatric Advanced Care Team, which will provide personalized care to enhance choices and relieve suffering to more than 150 patients facing end-of-life or potentially life-limiting conditions. In addition, the Patient Amenities Fund will assist more than 150 low-income families with incidental expenses as a result of illness or injury experienced by their child.

MCHF: Brain injury research and The Tiny Tim Fund
One of the most dangerous times for a baby is the period right before and right after birth. Perinatal complication is the leading cause of death in children under the age of five, and among the most serious health issues faced by experts at MCH. However, new support from HSBC is enabling research on preventing and treating perinatal brain injury, presenting a more promising future to these vulnerable infants and their families.

Justine Proulx, mother of 18-month old Justin, said: "My little Justin was deprived of oxygen at birth when his umbilical cord emerged first, and he could have suffered irreparable brain damage. But thankfully, Justin benefitted from therapeutic hypothermia treatment at the Montreal Children's Hospital, an innovative treatment where they artificially cool down the newborn's body temperature to prevent a massive rush of blood to his brain. Today Justin is a healthy little 18-month-old. We are living proof that research and expertise do save lives."

HSBC's support will also go towards The Tiny Tim Fund to assist more than 180 low-income families with incidental expenses as a result of illness or injury experienced by their child.  This program provides resources such as medication, meals, and counselling to families with a sick child at MCHF.  

HSBC's 150th anniversary community fund
To mark its 150th anniversary this year, HSBC will grant US$150m over the next three years (2015-17) to more than 140 charities from around the world.

Linda Seymour, Executive Vice President, and Country Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Bank Canada and HSBC Executive Sponsor of SickKids said: "HSBC's 150th anniversary community fund is our way of saying 'thank you' to our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve around the world. Through our support of four children's hospitals across the country, we aim to make a valuable contribution to medical research for kids and support their families through difficult times."

The funding is in addition to the regular annual charitable contributions made by the bank. Last fall HSBC employees voted to decide what charitable themes the US$150m community fund should focus on, and the top themes selected by Canadian employees included education, the environment and health.  Learn more at: www.hsbc.com/150-community-fund

Notes to editors:

1)	About the BC Children's Hospital Foundation: BC Children's Hospital is the province's only full-service acute-care hospital dedicated to serving close to one million children living in BC and the Yukon. All children who are seriously ill or injured are referred to Children's Hospital and are either treated at the hospital facility in Vancouver or, with consultation from Children's specialists, in their home community. Last year, more than 85,000 children were treated at Children's Hospital. In 2014-15 BC Children's Hospital Foundation received donations from more than 119,000 people and had revenues of $96.2 million. Funds raised by the foundation are used to support BC Children's Hospital, its research institute and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children. For more information, please visit www.bcchf.ca and follow @BCCHF on Twitter.
2)	About Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation: Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation inspires the community to invest in excellence in child health, research and family centred care. Through the generosity of donors, the Foundation provides funding for innovative programs, stateoftheart equipment, advanced medical training and internationally-recognized pediatric research. The Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation is a founding partner of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, as well as the primary funder. For more information, please visit www.childrenshospital.ab.ca.
3)	About SickKids Foundation: Established in 1972, SickKids Foundation raises funds on behalf of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and is the largest charitable funder of child health research, learning and care in Canada. Philanthropy is a critical source of funding for SickKids – one of the world's foremost paediatric health-care institutions. Thanks to the generosity of the community, SickKids Foundation had an unprecedented year in fundraising and investment returns, and raised a record-breaking $136 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. For more information, please visit www.sickkidsfoundation.com.
4)	About Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation: The Montreal Children's Hospital is the pediatric teaching hospital of the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. The Children's is a leader in providing a broad spectrum of highly specialized care to new-borns, children, and adolescents from all across Quebec. The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation raises funds to help the Children's remain on the cutting edge of teaching, research and care. The foundation completed its Best Care for Children campaign to build the new state-of-the-art hospital on the Glen site, which opened its doors to patients on May 24.  For more information, please visit childrenfoundation.com.
5)	About HSBC Bank Canada: HSBC Bank Canada, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc. is the leading international bank in the country. HSBC helps companies and individuals across Canada to do business and manage their finances internationally through three global business lines: Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Retail Banking and Wealth Management. Canada is a priority market for the HSBC Group – one of the world's largest banking and financial services groups with assets of US$2,572bn at 30 June 2015. Linked by advanced technology, HSBC serves customers worldwide through an international network of around 6,100 offices in 72 countries and territories in Europe, Asia, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa.

SOURCE HSBC Bank Canada

Media enquiries: BC Children's Hospital Foundation, Stephen Forgacs, [email protected], 604-875-2338; Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation: Justine Clay, [email protected], 403-955-8824; Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation: Séverine Defouni, [email protected], 514-934-1934 x29238; SickKids Foundation: Sandra Chiovitti, [email protected], 416-813-8292; HSBC Bank Canada: Aurora Bonin, [email protected], 604-641-1905