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For David Crook, giving back has always been about taking care of the place that helped shape him. “I’m a Barrie boy all the way,” he says. “There’s not a day that goes by when I’m not grateful to be from here.” That connection to his community was at the heart of his transformational $1-million gift to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s (RVH) Cardiac Care Unit, celebrated alongside long-time friends and leaders from RVH and RVH Foundation. For David, philanthropy and the responsibility to support your community started at home. His father, Leslie, served as a pilot with both the Royal Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War and was shot down in 1941. While recovering in hospital, he met Gertrude Bertram, whom he would later marry. Growing up, David watched his parents make giving back a part of their lives. His father became deeply involved in the Masonic Lodge, and together his parents instilled in David a belief that supporting your community wasn’t something you did only when the opportunity arose. It was something you planned for. “My parents taught me that giving back to your community was the right thing to do,” David says. “It should be part of your budget.” It’s a lesson David has carried with him throughout his life. He has supported RVH in various ways since 1985. In 2015, he made his first $1-million gift to help establish advanced cardiac care at RVH—care that thousands of patients from across the region have relied on since. Now, as Simcoe Muskoka continues to grow, David is stepping forward again. RVH’s two existing cardiac catheterization labs (cath labs) are operating at capacity as demand for advanced cardiac care continues to rise. When the program opened in 2018, space was set aside for a future third cath lab, anticipating the region’s growth and future cardiac care needs. That need is now here. These specialized labs allow cardiac teams to perform minimally invasive, life-saving procedures, including rapidly locating and opening a blocked artery during a heart attack. “Without another cath lab, patients will face longer waits and longer drives for care,” says Gail Hunt, President and CEO of RVH. “We’re incredibly grateful to David for seeing the need and stepping up for his community. His generosity brings us one step closer to ensuring more patients can receive this critical, life-saving care right here at home, when every minute matters.” For David, right here at home carries particular meaning. Years ago, while travelling in the United States, David suffered a heart attack. Far from Barrie, he went through treatment and the early stages of recovery without the family and friends he would normally have turned to for support. “I know what it’s like to need cardiac care away from home,” he says. “I had to go through treatment and recovery alone. I never want anyone to experience what I did. Having your family and friends near you is so important to recovery.” That experience shaped the way David thinks about access to healthcare. Advanced care close to home isn’t simply about avoiding a long drive. It means being surrounded by family, friends and community at a time when their presence can matter most. “David understands something that is at the heart of what we’re working to build at RVH: people shouldn’t have to leave their community to access the advanced care they need,” says Pamela Ross, CEO of RVH Foundation. “His generosity means more patients can face some of the most difficult moments of their lives with their families, their friends, and their community close by. That is an extraordinary gift to this region.” For someone who has spent a lifetime believing in the importance of community, David sees his latest gift as another way to take care of his. “There’s a saying when you’ve had a heart attack: time is muscle,” he says. “If this gift means people don’t have to travel south for care and these services can continue to be offered locally, my gift will have done its job.” For this Barrie boy, that’s what giving back is all about.
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