Grand River Hospital is renaming its emergency department following a multi-million-dollar donation designed to improve emergency care at the hospital.

The department will now be known as the Lazaridis Family Foundation Emergency Department – named after Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis, who are donating $2 million to the organization.

That money will go toward a new “rapid access clinic”, which will help patients with complex needs receive specialized care, and a new computer system that will help fully digitize patient information in the ER.

“Better information will help improve front line care, so it’s fitting that a portion of the Lazaridis family’s contribution will support those enhancements,” hospital president and CEO Malcolm Maxwell said in a press release.

Hospital officials say the rapid access clinic will decrease repeat visits to the emergency department by providing more access to inpatient beds and community services for patients with complex needs.

An estimated 65,000 patients per year pass through Grand River Hospital’s emergency department.