A hospital gift spotlights a benefits gap for plan sponsors
RBC Foundation will donate $1.5 million over three years to Women's College Hospital Foundation. The organizations announced the gift on Tuesday.
The money will expand menopause care and hereditary cancer prevention. The hospital aims to reach 10,000 people and train more than 200 primary care providers in menopause care, according to the RBC Foundation announcement.
For benefits and pensions professionals, the gift points to a care gap that shapes plan design, claims and workforce health.
A training gap in menopause care
The funding supports the hospital's new Centre for Sex and Gender in Health. It will flow through the Healthy Aging Through Prevention program.
More than 10 million women in Canada are over 40, the release says. An estimated 40% will experience menopause symptoms. These range from hot flashes and sleep disruption to anxiety and cognitive changes.
Canada has no standardized menopause curriculum for healthcare providers, the release adds. That leaves many providers without specialized training.
"For too long, menopause has been overlooked in healthcare, leaving too many women without the answers and support they deserve," said Sandra Sualim, president and CEO of Women's College Hospital Foundation.
Heather McPherson, president and CEO of Women's College Hospital, described the goal. "At Women's College Hospital we are working to vastly expand access to menopause care and education and equip more primary care providers with the knowledge and tools to deliver better care. Our ambition goes beyond reaching more patients. We want to make evidence-based menopause care a routine part of healthcare, so every individual can access the support they need, when and where they need it," she said.
The funding backs two projects:
- Menopause empowerment project: culturally adapted education, community outreach and training for primary care providers. It focuses on breast cancer patients, Black and Indigenous communities, and gender-diverse people.
- Hereditary cancer prevention: education and outreach built on more than 30 years of hospital research. It includes family-based cascade testing to find relatives who may carry inherited mutations.
Maria Winslow, interim CEO of RBC Insurance, said the work targets a broader problem. "Women's health has been overlooked for too long, and addressing these gaps requires more than just awareness. It requires investment in solutions that improve how women experience healthcare," she said.
RBC says the gift is part of a wider commitment to women's health. That includes brain health, menopause care and hereditary cancer prevention.
Why plan sponsors are watching
The donation does not change any group coverage. Still, the same gap is showing up in workplace benefits.
A GreenShield survey of women aged 35 to 60 found only 13% said their employer provides adequate menopause benefits. The survey was reported in March. About 64% said symptoms affect job performance.
Carriers are responding in different ways, Benefits and Pensions Monitor reported in October:
- Manulife gives more than 1.4 million group members access to Maven's menopause program.
- Manulife also reported that hormone therapy claims among women aged 45 to 54 rose 228% over five years.
- GreenShield cites 540,000 lost workdays and $3.5 billion in yearly lost productivity in Canada.
Public programs are moving too. British Columbia now fully funds menopausal hormone therapy, following Manitoba, the same report said.
For plan designers, better-trained primary care providers could affect how members use drugs, virtual care and specialist referrals. Actuaries and consultants may also find the hospital's results useful as evidence of what works.
