It’s being called the largest single private donation to health care in the history of the Atlantic region.

A family from Ontario, with roots in Nova Scotia, has donated $10 million dollars to the IWK Health Centre.

The money will support the creation of a new acute mental health inpatient unit, a state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit and a new suite of women’s healthcare facilities.

Myron Garron, who’s originally from Westport, and wife Berna tell News 95.7 the donation was a couple years in the making.

“We realized what a wonderful institution it (IWK Health Care Centre) is and I just simply asked the question, listen what do you need, what’s you’re greatest need, prioritize it and maybe we can help in some way,” he explains.

The Garrons lost a son to cancer. Berna says that’s been their motivation.

“When you’ve had a sick child, you know what other parents are going through,” she says.

Myron adds that’s why their focus started on children and cancer.

“But we realize we have to look in other areas, and really what was needed the most is what was important to us,” he says. “Obviously the mental health unit here at IWK needed help.”

Berna says because of the stigma attached to mental health issues, there is a big need for mental care facilities.

“Cancer was at one time not mentioned,” says Berna. “Now you can talk about cancer. So hopefully we’ll be able to talk about mental health like we talk about cancer.”

Myron says meeting with patients over the years is part of the reason they decided to make the donation.