From L to R: Marc A. Courtois, Marie-Josée Gariépy, John Rae, the honorable Arthur T. Porter, Louis Vachon, Christian Paire, Gilles Dulude, Yvon Deschamps, Ékram Antoine Rabbat and Dr. François Lespérance.

From the National Bank’s website:

National Bank is giving $8 million to the Joint Corporate Campaign of the Fondation du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) and the McGill University Health Centre Foundation (MUHC). Announced on October 5, 2011, the donation will support the Montreal projects’ goals of enhancing academic medicine, including research. Both centres will be able to acquire state-of-the-art equipment and create ultramodern facilities whose spaces will be able to be reconfigured as needs change, thereby supporting consistent quality care.

“National Bank is proud to donate $8 million to the CHUM and MUHC foundations’ joint campaign; it is the largest gift in our history,” declared Louis Vachon, the National Bank’s president and chief executive officer. “Whether we are talking about our clients, our employees or the members of the communities we serve, everyone realizes that these projects are important. In addition to supporting health care improvements, they will boost both Montreal’s and Quebec’s economic and social development.”

“Fifteen years after the founding of the CHUM, we continue to reach for the pinnacles of science and academics in order to offer our patients the best care,” noted Christian Paire, the CHUM’s director general and chief executive officer. “Such care is also guaranteed by partnerships, such as the one we’re announcing today, which allow us to pursue our quest for excellence in teaching and in research.”

“National Bank’s contribution exemplifies the trust and generosity of our community, which we intend to repay with world-class care, research and teaching,” stated the Honourable Arthur T. Porter, the MUHC’s director general and chief executive officer. “The redevelopment of our hospitals is well underway and will assure that our healthcare professionals have the modern tools to do their best work while our patients have comfortable, family-accessible rooms to support their treatment.”

Read the full press release on the National Bank’s website by clicking here.