The gift of Essentials for QEII Patients supports the QEII Patient Essentials Fund, which provides gift cards for urgent patient needs like gas, groceries, personal care and pharmacy items. The 100 per cent donor-funded gift cards offer relief to QEII patients facing financial difficulties while being treated for an illness or injury.
During times of illness or injury, a little act of kindness can bring joy to someone's day. This Mother’s Day, you can give a heartfelt gift that brings support and relief to patients at the QEII Health Sciences Centre when they need it most.
And right now, your gift will go twice as far.
Through the QEII Better Care Gift Catalogue, you can give a gift of Essentials for QEII Patients to provide patients with urgent, much-needed essentials like gas, grocery and pharmacy gift cards.
Your gift, made in honour of your loved one, will make double the difference, thanks to a generous anonymous donor who is matching all Essentials for QEII Patients gifts, up to $5,000.
The essentials of recovery
Illness and injury affect more than just the body and can deeply impact a person’s financial stability. That’s why the QEII Patient Essentials Fund was developed by the QEII Foundation, providing immediate support for patients facing financial difficulty during their care journey. The fund supports urgent, essential needs, providing QEII care teams with 100 per cent donor-funded gas, grocery, and pharmacy gift cards to patients who need a helping hand.
Since the fund’s launch in 2021, donor support has provided more than 15,000 gift cards for patients, delivered through care teams at the QEII and Nova Scotia Health community-based programs. But as the costs of living continue to rise, the need continues to grow.
Last year, 3,583 gift cards helped ease the burden of a care journey for patients like Judy Lewis.
At 64, Judy had just graduated from NSCC and was getting ready to embark on a new career as a paralegal when she found out she had colon cancer. Financially, it set her back, as she had invested so much in her education.
Judy was anxiously waiting to find out her prognosis during a post-surgery appointment with her QEII surgeon, Dr. Mark Walsh. Feeling uncertain how she would manage expenses during treatment and recovery, she explained her circumstances to a QEII nurse who had kindly asked her how she was doing.
Thanks to the QEII Patient Essentials Fund, the nurse had access to donor-funded grocery gift cards to offer Judy.
“It made such a difference to have that kind gesture at a time when my prognosis was not known, and my future ability to be gainfully employed being uncertain,” says Judy.
She left the appointment feeling like her healthcare team was looking out for her wellbeing.
Filling up gas tanks and hearts during a care journey
Pictured: Sara Amero, QEII nuclear medicine technologist, has provided donor-funded gas gift cards to patients in need – small gestures with a big impact.
Sara Amero works as a nuclear medicine technologist at the QEII. As a recipient of a QEII Patient Essentials Fund grant last year, she sees firsthand how these donor-funded gift cards make a meaningful difference for patients.
Sara primarily works with oncology patients undergoing PET-CT scans, a crucial imaging tool used to diagnose and monitor cancer.
These scans help healthcare teams determine where cancer is located, if it has spread, how well they’re responding to treatment, and what the likelihood is of their cancer returning.
Sara and her team often build strong connections with these patients, who have multiple appointments during their care journey.
“The patients we see most often are oncology patients who come in for initial scanning, follow-up treatments or treatment planning,” says Sara. “Many of the patients we work with come back frequently, so we get to know them quite well.”
In addition to oncology patients, Sara and her colleagues also perform cardiac and brain scans using the donor-funded PET-CT.
Sara has seen how gas gift cards, provided by the QEII Patient Essentials Fund, can ease some of the burden for patients who need to travel frequently for care.
Patients travel from all corners of Nova Scotia and even from other provinces to access the QEII’s PET-CT scanner, the only one of its kind in the province. Travel costs can add up fast, which is why gas gift cards are a lifeline of support.
“It’s important to us to see them smile and help them out,” says Sara. “Especially when we know they are coming from across the province or beyond, like P.E.I.”
And the support goes beyond fuel.
“Consistently, the QEII Patient Essentials program has allowed us to connect with patients in a different way,” she says. “We can see the positive impact these gift cards have on them — and that wouldn’t be possible without the QEII Foundation and donors.”
The need is ongoing. Your gift will be matched.
Every day, QEII patients face the overwhelming challenge of navigating illness while also coping with financial strain, from lost wages to rising living costs. Your gift of Essentials for QEII Patients will help ensure they don’t feel alone in their journey.
- Gas gift cards ease the financial burden for patients who travel to the QEII for life-saving treatments and appointments.
- Grocery gift cards enable patients to follow healthy, treatment-specific diets during care.
- Pharmacy gift cards help patients afford hygiene products, home health products, essential medication and more.
And this Mother’s Day, your impact will be doubled. An anonymous donor has pledged to match every gift of Essentials for QEII Patients, up to $5,000, meaning your generosity will help even more Atlantic Canadian patients and families access the resources they need to support their healing and well-being.
Give the gift of kindness to QEII patients and families
Recovering from an illness or injury causes more strain on a patient’s life than just showing up for treatments and appointments. A little kindness and support during difficult moments can make a big difference in a patient’s care experience.
This Mother’s Day, honour someone you love by giving a gift that makes a difference for local Nova Scotians receiving health care at the QEII. Give the gift of Essentials for QEII Patients through the QEII Better Care Gift Catalogue to support patients navigating a care journey when they need it most.
