$3 Million Gift to Fund State-of-the-Art Auditorium at Foothills Medical Centre
A transformative $3 million donation is set to revolutionize a key space at Calgary's Foothills Medical Centre, creating a modern auditorium that will serve as both a medical education hub and a lasting tribute to a beloved family member. The generous gift from Stephen Kennedy, a major benefactor of the Calgary Health Foundation, will fund the complete refurbishment of a currently demolished theatre, with completion targeted for 2027.
A Personal Memorial in a Medical Setting
For Stephen Kennedy, this substantial contribution carries profound personal significance. The newly renovated space will be named the Stephen and Paula Kennedy Auditorium in honor of his late wife, Paula Kennedy, who passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer at the former Tom Baker Institute, which was part of the Foothills Medical Centre complex.
"His wife was quite ill with cancer for a very long time, so they spent a lot of time at the former Tom Baker institute... she passed away there," explained Sarah Kennedy, Stephen's daughter. "He had an affinity for the site to start with... and when it came time for him to make a meaningful donation, his immediate thought was to that centre."
Modernizing a 1960s-Era Facility
The theatre renovation represents a crucial component of a broader initiative to expand and modernize the Foothills Medical Centre, which was originally constructed in the 1960s. According to Paul Rossmann, CEO of Calgary Health Foundation, the current facility reflects its era of construction and requires significant updates to meet contemporary medical education and research standards.
"What is there today was built when the hospital was built... back in the 1960s," Rossmann noted, emphasizing the necessity of this comprehensive renovation project.
Features of the New Kennedy Auditorium
The forthcoming Stephen and Paula Kennedy Auditorium will incorporate numerous advanced features designed to enhance medical education and community engagement:
- State-of-the-art visual and audio display systems
- New, comfortable seating arrangements
- A graded floor to optimize visibility for all attendees
- Positioning as the central hub within the larger renovation project
Beyond the auditorium itself, the broader renovation will include active learning classrooms, a simulation centre for practicing new medical procedures, an innovation lab, and open common areas to foster collaboration among medical professionals.
Multiple Functions for Medical Advancement
The renovated space will serve diverse purposes within the medical community. "The auditorium itself will be used to hold international and local conferences," Rossmann explained. "It'll be used by physicians for teaching and research rounds. And the simulation lab will be used to practice new procedures and new techniques."
Additionally, the auditorium will function as a community hub, providing space for patient and family engagement activities and making medical education more accessible to the broader Calgary community. Rossmann highlighted the strategic importance of the location: "It's such a great opportunity because it's in the centre of the Foothills hospital, on the bottom level of the hospital. And it was really an underutilized and very old space."
Encouraging Transparency in Philanthropy
Despite his significant contribution, Stephen Kennedy initially preferred to keep the donation private. His daughter Sarah revealed that the family encouraged him to embrace the public recognition that accompanies such transformative gifts. "We've had to encourage him to speak more openly about it and be comfortable with the idea of an opening ceremony and having it named (after him)," she shared.
Sarah described her father as an "action-oriented person" who strongly believes in the power of private donations to drive exceptional healthcare outcomes. "He feels really strongly about the idea that private donation can drive exceptional health care and it's a difference maker," she stated. "Hand-in-hand with that is the idea that if you provide transparency to the donation, perhaps it encourages others to donate."
This $3 million donation represents not only a memorial to Paula Kennedy but also a strategic investment in the future of medical education and research at one of Calgary's premier healthcare institutions. The Stephen and Paula Kennedy Auditorium will stand as both a tribute to a life lost to cancer and a beacon for medical advancement in Alberta for decades to come.
