Princess Margaret Hospital is located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada on University Avenue at College Street. It is part of the University Health Network. Located in the city's Discovery District, Princess Margaret is a cancer research hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is under royal patronage of Anne, Princess Royal, as a member of the Canadian Royal Family. The hospital was named after the late Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II.
The hospital specializes in the treatment of cancer, and offers the majority of its services to residents of the Greater Toronto Area. It frequently hosts patients from other parts of Canada for access to a high calibre of treatment.[citation needed]. In particular, the hospital offers expertise in the fields of surgical oncology, medical oncology including bone marrow transplantation, radiation oncology, psychosocial oncology, medical imaging, and radiation therapy.
The hospital houses one of the largest radiation therapy departments in the world. It has 17 radiation treatment machines, all of which are equipped with the latest technologies, a superficial ortho-voltage X-Ray machine, and operates a Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery machine in collaboration with Toronto Western Hospital.
[edit] EducationAs a teaching hospital of the University of Toronto, the hospital provides world class training to various medical professions. Most notable are clinical programs for medical doctors and radiation therapists.
[edit] ResearchIts related research arm, the Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI), has made world-renowned contributions[citation needed], and works in conjunction with the hospital in a mutually beneficial relationship. Many researchers at the OCI hold appointments at the University of Toronto, often within the Department of Medical Biophysics.
[edit] HistoryThe hospital was founded as the Ontario Cancer Institute in 1952 by an Act of the Ontario legislature. Designed by the architect Henry Sproatt, it was originally located at 500 Sherbourne Street, beside the now demolished Wellesley Hospital, on Sherbourne Street north of Wellesley Avenue. The hospital at 500 Sherbourne was completed in 1958 and named the Princess Margaret Hospital after Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom. In 1995, the hospital relocated to 610 University Avenue (the short building once was head office for Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario).
During health restructuring legislated by the Harris Government in the late 1990s, Princess Margaret Hospital merged with The Toronto Hospital which was the entity formed by the merger of the Toronto General Hospital and the Toronto Western Hospital. The new entity was named University Health Network and the three hospital sites retain their original names within the new entity. Like many hospitals, Princess Margaret Hospital is served by a charitable foundation, the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, which holds numerous events and a lottery to raise philanthropic funds to support research, education, and patient care.
Additional imagesPrincess Margaret Hospital seen from the southwest at sunset.
Princess Margaret Hospital seen from the northeast. Mount Sinai Hospital is to the south.
See alsoList of Canadian organizations with royal patronage
The Ride to Conquer Cancer
References[edit] External linksOntario Cancer Institute
Canadian Cancer Society
Princess Margaret Hospital
Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto
