Judi Phillips (left) and Dave Shea (right) are members of the QEII Leadership Giving Group. Along with other donors in the group, they collectively contributed $150,000 to fully fund the Upper Extremity Lab at the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation and Arthritis Centre.
Philanthropy is personal. Everyone has a unique reason for choosing to support a cause or project close to their heart.
That’s true for Dave Shea and Judi Phillips, QEII Foundation donors and members of the Leadership Giving Group.
Created in 2024, the Leadership Giving Group brings people together who want to help advance health care through the QEII Health Sciences Centre. Together, the group fully funds one project each year, ensuring their collective generosity has a tangible impact on an important healthcare priority.
“Health care is something that affects everyone at some point,” says Dave Shea, chair of the Leadership Giving Group and executive vice president of Kraken Robotics.
“The group brings together people passionate about supporting the healthcare system and collectively funding a project that might not be possible to do alone.”
The group’s inaugural project is the Upper Extremity Lab. A newly created space within the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation and Arthritis Centre at the QEII, the lab and technology within it will help patients work towards regaining independence following a life-altering illness or injury.
Each of the 15 members contributed $5,000, with the J & W Murphy Foundation matching every gift to reach the $150,000 project goal.
Opening in June, the Upper Extremity Lab will be equipped with digital tools like virtual reality and wearable sensor technology, giving patients real-time feedback and insights that can help them and their clinicians make data-informed decisions for more personalized therapy. All while helping patients recover and strengthen hand, arm, and shoulder skills needed for activities of daily living — like eating, grocery shopping and meal preparation.
The space will also foster collaboration between patients and clinicians, united by shared goals — something they share with the Leadership Giving Group donors.
‘I was just amazed’
In 2019, Dave’s friend and colleague, Warren Connors, received life-saving surgery at the QEII to remove cancerous tumours on both of his kidneys. In the span of weeks, Warren underwent two surgeries with the donor-funded da Vinci surgical robot.
“I was just amazed at the time that the QEII had this innovative technology and that it was fully donor-funded was a surprise to me.”
Dave’s desire to get involved grew when he attended the QEII’s inaugural Innovation Den in 2023. A pitch-style competition, the Innovation Den brings together some of the brightest minds in Nova Scotia with ideas to ignite and advance health care.
“I think one of the challenges for a lot of people, including myself, is that I look at what’s happening at the QEII and in the medical system, and I want to do something, but I’m not sure the best way to make a difference.”
That’s why the Leadership Giving Group was a fit for him. Coming together with others, like Judi, to collectively make an impact.
‘It was a no-brainer’
As a retired oncology nurse and long-time QEII Foundation donor, Judi’s connection to health care and her lifelong commitment to giving back to her community were key factors in getting involved. As a breast cancer survivor, she’s been raising funds for cancer care through BMO Ride for Cancer for the last nine years.
But it was a recent experience with the rehabilitation centre that made this project more personal for Judi. She saw firsthand the exceptional care her husband, Stephen, received following a cycling accident two-and-a-half years ago, not long after his retirement as a QEII neurologist.
“He benefited from physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy at the rehabilitation centre. It’s a fabulous facility with really committed staff. When I was asked to be part of this project, it was a no-brainer,” says Judi.
“The staff are so fabulous,” Judi adds. “It’s nice to be able to give them access to new and modern technology to complement the exceptional clinical care they give to patients.”
Immediate patient impact
The Upper Extremity Lab is one initiative to bring more modern and critical technology to the province’s largest and most specialized rehabilitation centre. As part of the Foundation’s $100-million We Are campaign to transform health care, the group is contributing to several campaign pillars including, increasing access to care, introducing new technology and offering more personalized treatments.
Dave and Judi both look forward to the unveiling of the Upper Extremity Lab, especially knowing patients will benefit immediately.
“As soon as the space opens, we can see our impact on patients directly. It’s very satisfying to know how imminent it is and that it won’t take years to start making a difference in people’s lives,” says Dave.
As the group celebrates their first incredible milestone, they are also looking ahead, working with the QEII Foundation to select their next project to support.
“Being a part of the group allows you to not only look at the dollars that you're putting into that bucket and knowing it’s going to a good cause, but actually steering what that cause is,” Dave says. “And I think that can be meaningful for a lot of people.”
If you’d like to learn more about the QEII Leadership Giving Group, contact Natalie Longmire, Charitable Giving Advisor at Natalie.Longmire@QE2Foundation.ca or 902 223 3150.
