The Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation is saying farewell to a familiar face who has helped shape healthcare in the community for more than three decades. Tracy Paterson, the organization’s long-serving CEO, officially retired on March 31, 2026, marking the end of an era for the foundation and the hospital it supports. Paterson was described as an extraordinary healthcare champion in a retirement announcement posted May 26.
Paterson first joined the team in the late 1980s, hired by Ken McInnis as Director of Development and Communications for what was then Ajax Pickering General Hospital. Over the years, she worked her way up to the top role, steering fundraising efforts that left a lasting mark. Under her watch, the foundation secured funding for vital equipment and facility upgrades, most notably with Paterson leading the ‘Image is Everything’ campaign. That push brought in more than $5 million in less than two years to buy an MRI machine for the hospital in 2011.
Paterson’s legacy also includes the largest single donation ever made by an individual in Durham Region. Local philanthropist Jerry Coughlan gave $7 million, a gift that helped create the Jerry Coughlan Health and Wellness Centre in Pickering. Cynthia Davis, President and CEO of Lakeridge Health, said Paterson’s leadership and commitment to patient care left an extraordinary mark not just on Ajax Pickering Hospital but across the entire Lakeridge Health system.
The foundation has already named a successor. Steven Cook was appointed CEO effective late January 2026, bringing experience from his previous role as Executive Director of Belleville General Hospital Foundation. Board Chair Victor Sgro, who signed the retirement announcement with gratitude and honour, said the foundation begins this next chapter with confidence.
The foundation will be in the spotlight again soon at the Ajax Mayor’s Gala on June 6, 2026. For the second year in a row, the gala has named the hospital foundation its Charity of Choice, with funds this year going toward Automatic Drug Dispensing Units. The event continues a tradition of community backing that Paterson helped cultivate throughout her career.
