Honouring one of our own while helping tackle COVID-19

Back in 2004, Mehran Afshar started his career at North York General Hospital (NYGH) when he trained as a student respiratory therapist. In 2013, he went back to school to become an anesthesia assistant while continuing to work as a full-time respiratory therapist. His smile and friendly manner were a fixture around the halls of NYGH until his untimely passing at the age of 35.

Mehran touched the lives of countless NYGH staff. He will always be remembered for his bright and friendly manner, dedication to patient care, ability to form friendships, and for making staff and patients feel cared for and understood.

In partnership with North York General Hospital Foundation, Mehran’s family established the Mehran Afshar Education Fund to honour his memory and the contributions he made to the hospital for more than 10 years. The scholarship is awarded annually to a deserving candidate who is looking to further their education at North York General.

Mehran was a lifelong learner and mentor to many students at the hospital. He also funded much of his own education by seeking out and applying to various scholarships, so starting a scholarship in his name felt like the most appropriate and natural way to keep his memory alive.

Mehran loved sports, his family, his friends and having a good time, and the annual fundraising events that his family and friends organized over the years, like baseball games, combined all his favourite things and all his favourite people.

This year, given the current situation, his family decided to direct $25,000 from the Mehran Afshar Education Fund towards North York General’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to not only help their community hospital tackle COVID-19 but also to honour Mehran. If Mehran were alive today, he would have been an integral member of the tireless and dedicated frontline health care team at NYGH.

Mehran’s family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to their friends and families who support their sports tournaments each year. Without them, this donation would not have been possible.