If you ask Lois Rice about the importance of giving back to the community, she’s likely to share a favourite saying: “The things we do for ourselves will be forgotten when we are gone. Only the things we do for others will live on.”

As a long-time supporter of Osler Foundation, Lois had a bird's-eye view of the building of the new Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness five years ago. “It was exciting to see the rebirth of Peel from the ground up,” she says.

Having previously donated to Brampton Civic Hospital, Lois was happy to support the new Peel Memorial, too. “I was just so pleased that Peel was coming to light again,” she says. “And I'm sure the doctors and staff are all proud of that facility. And of course we're proud of the staff there, too.”

Lois believes the most important institutions in a community are churches and hospitals. “I think that it's so very important for everyone in the community to think about and help because they're really the centre of the community,” she says.

Her contributions to the hospital are in keeping with a long tradition of women supporting community health care in the region. Over 100 years ago, the Women’s Institute of Brampton put forth a proposal that changed the face of local health care. With backing from the community, Peel Memorial Hospital was created.

In 2017, the hospital transformed to meet changing needs, and the new Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness was born. It has since become a catalyst for change and a new way to manage health and wellness, thanks to the generous support of the community, including Lois, for whom Peel Memorial’s atrium was named.

The transformation of Peel Memorial – including the new multi-storey patient tower with 250 beds–will support increased health care capacity for years to come.

Lois is feeling the excitement around the transformation of Peel Memorial. “I look forward to what is proposed for the future and I think that's so terrific,” she says.

Through her fundraising work for Osler hospitals, Lois has given back to the community, but says she has received something in return. “I've become friends with so many people, having dealt with the hospital for so many years,” she explains. “It's been terrific for me, certainly enhanced my life. I just like being part of it.