Ottawa businesspeople Kathleen Grimes and her husband Ersin Ozerdinc have donated $500,000 to the Montfort Hospital’s Mental Health Emergency Zone, the Montfort Foundation announced this week.
“As a family, we have experienced Montfort’s services firsthand and we share our positive experiences with the expertise of Montfort’s psychiatric services with those around us. Montfort’s reputation in mental health is increasingly recognized in Ottawa and beyond,” said Grimes and Ozerdinc, owners of Site Preparation Limited, in a news release Tuesday.
According to the release, Montfort receives twice as many mental health emergencies compared to other hospitals in Ottawa and throughout the province. The Mental Health Emergency Zone, which opened in November 2024, offers patients a safe space to recover more quickly.
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Kristine Levesque, deputy chief of staff and chief of psychiatry at Montfort, said the space is “more welcoming than a typical emergency room. It was specially created to reduce stress, facilitate the relationship between the care team and patients, and contribute to their recovery.”
Grimes recently visited with her son, Elgin Ozerdinc.
“It is impressive to see the level of attention that has been paid to the technical elements of the new physical spaces, such as door alarms, double doors, security cameras, and the observation console,” Grimes said in the release. “These distinctive features make the new Mental Health Emergency Zone unique and exemplary in its very essence.”
The Mental Health Emergency Zone was able to open faster than expected, following the completion of a $2-million renovation project that was expected to last 18 months but was completed in 18 weeks.
“The support of donors like the Ozerdinc-Grimes Family demonstrates that major initiatives can be accomplished solely through philanthropy — a powerful testimony to our community’s engagement, resilience and dedication to mental health. It also reinforces the vital role of philanthropy in advancing care, education, and research,” said Dominic Giroux, president and CEO of Montfort, in the release.
