The moments here are about as real as they get…
Philanthropy is the love of people. And nowhere is that stronger than here at home.
Donor impact can be felt in every corner of the QEII Health Sciences Centre. Whether funding the latest technology, investing in research to discover new treatments, or providing comfort to patients and families facing their toughest moments, donors make healthcare advancements possible.
These are just a few of the stories where donors have pushed health care forward.
QEII Health Sciences Centre Foundation – Transformed health. Transformed lives. This is our vision. For more than two decades, the QEII Foundation has been advancing health care at the QEII by funding new technologies, medical research, innovation and professional education that contribute to life-changing moments experienced every day by patients and their loved ones. With incredible support from the community, together we are transforming the QEII for Atlantic Canadians.
QEII Health Sciences Centre – As the largest adult health sciences centre in Atlantic Canada, the QEII Health Sciences Centre is more than just 10 buildings on two sites. It’s thousands of people delivering exceptional care, every day. From the operating room to the research lab, and everywhere in between, the most advanced care in our region is within the walls of the QEII. In addition to being the specialized care centre for heart health, cancer care, neurosurgery and organ transplantation, the QEII is the leading research centre and training facility for tomorrow’s healthcare professionals.
Keeping the best in medicine here in Atlantic Canada.
Donors raised $4 million to bring advanced linear accelerators to the QEII, which deliver targeted radiation therapy. This leading technology also drive learning at the QEII. This allowed for the creation of a medical physics program – one of 12 of its kind in the world. Medical physicists are responsible for the accuracy of radiation doses, determining the best pathway to access tumours through targeted radiation therapy.
This program helps to attract and retain talent – keeping our experts at home in Atlantic Canada.
The Mechanics of Healing
As an athletic, young mechanic with a world of opportunity on the horizon, Matthew Upham didn’t expect to spend his summer as an inpatient at the QEII, learning to walk again.
19-year-old Musquodoboit Harbour local, Matt, was air-lifted to the QEII after a devastating car accident. Dubbed “The Miracle Kid”, Matt’s road to recovery included aquatic therapy in The Grace Hansen Therapeutic Pool – a pool completely funded by QEII Foundation donors. In fact, a $1-million gift by the Hansen MacDonald family led the QEII Foundation’s Revitalizing Rehab campaign, which saw the community come together and raise $2.6-million to construct The Grace Hansen Therapeutic Pool.
Alongside the pool and rehabilitation facilities, Matt attributes much of his progress to the incredible QEII staff and physicians that were involved in his care journey and a key part of his support network.
Because of Matt’s injuries, he may need to make some significant lifestyle changes including a potential career shift. When asked “what’s next?” it turns out that not only is Matt interested in the mechanics of cars and trucks, but also in the intriguing mechanical puzzle of the human body.
Moving into his next chapter, Matt is considering a transition into the physiotherapy and rehabilitation field, largely inspired by the care he received at the QEII.
“You can always choose to give up, which is going to be the easy option. But life is a challenge anyway, so just keep going. Even if things aren’t better now, that’s not to say they won’t get better in the future. If you stay positive, you are going to help your body heal.”
Saving lives in a surgical suite funded by donors.
QEII Foundation donors recently came together to fund the rebuilding and reopening of the QEII’s Cardiac Cath Lab D, a surgical suite dedicated to inserting coronary stents, implanting pacemakers and other vital heart health procedures at the QEII.
The transformation was part of our From the Heart campaign, which raised $4.5 million for heart health at the QEII.
Donor-funded technology reducing MRI wait times
A $2.5 million donation from the Gauthier and David families helped purchase Nova Scotia’s first 3T MRI for the QEII. The addition of the new 3T MRI allowed QEII teams to scan 200 more patients each month and, in some cases, identify cancers earlier due to its state-of-the-art imaging quality.
Fighting cancer with technology funded by donors
With eight self-shielded tanks tucked behind two doors weighing an incredible 14 tons, the cyclotron is a device that creates medical isotopes known as fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) — a very small amount of radioactive material. FDG is used every day in the QEII’s positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET CT) scanner to diagnose cancer and other diseases.
The PET CT scanner and cyclotron project was the flagship project of a major fundraising campaign and received more than $3 million from QEII Foundation, QEII radiologists, Bell Aliant and the provincial government.
Previously, the QEII’s PET CT’s supply of FDG was shipped daily from Montreal to service an ever-increasing demand for the scans in Atlantic Canada. Because FDG decays very quickly, shipping it limited its effectiveness, which impacted wait times.
With the QEII’s cyclotron running, 12 to 13 patient scans can be completed every day, compared to just eight or nine per day with the isotopes from Montreal. In addition to seeing more patients, it is also a more reliable service with the ability to test extra patients when necessary.
We care about you, as much as we care for you.
Completely donor-funded, two new Independent Living Simulation (ILS) suites recently opened at the QEII’s Nova Scotia Rehabilitation and Arthritis Centre. As part of their recovery, and in preparation to return home, rehabilitation patients practise everyday skills – like getting out of bed, preparing meals and showering – in the ILS suites, which replicate a home atmosphere.
The most advanced suites of their kind in Canada, the QEII’s ILS suites include smart-home technology and cutting-edge accessibility features which can be activated by a patient’s voice, finger, breath or eye movement.
We all play a role in saving lives.
When a patient comes into the QEII for a procedure, it is likely that procedure will require the use of instruments or equipment. Sometimes these items may be single use and discarded; however, the majority of these items are designed to be used multiple times. These reusable items must go through a process that involves cleaning, disinfection, inspection, packaging and sterilization before they can be used on another patient.
This is where the QEII’s Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR) team comes in. Located at both the Halifax Infirmary and VG sites, the QEII’s MDR teams support all areas of the QEII, such as the operating room, inpatient and outpatient clinics and the Nova Scotia Cancer Centre.
In 2015, the QEII’s sterilization processing units needed to be replaced. At a cost of more than $1 million, the QEII Foundation contributed $450,000 toward the new units, with the provincial government funding the balance, helping ensure safety for every QEII patient.
#QE2GotThis
