In February 2019, one of our own was diagnosed with breast cancer. As one of the office’s resident health nuts and a yoga teacher on the side, our VP of Brand and Communications, Shauna Nyrose, was the last person any of us expected to be ‘the one’. Shauna became one of thousands who undergo cancer treatment in the interior each year. Which is why, in partnership with the teams providing cancer care at KGH, the Foundation was compelled to include cancer as a top priority in our Closer to home than you think campaign.

In this issue of Foundations, Shauna shares her story to help highlight the impact that we can have in the treatment of this life-altering disease.

We know this is important to you. The campaign gives us the opportunity to work together and shape the future of cancer care at KGH, specifically the diagnosis and primary treatment of cancers – breast, prostate, pancreatic, brain, stomach, colon… and many more – that touch so many of us and our loved ones. 

This includes beloved KGH Foundation volunteer, the indelible Barbie Ross, who passed in the spring of 2023. In this issue we honour a woman who truly was on a mission to bring people together for the common good. Barbie’s impact in our community and Kelowna General Hospital will never be forgotten. 

Also in this issue, we travel back in time with one of Interior Health’s most inspiring scholars and researchers, Dr. Deanne Taylor. Her vision, knowledge and passion for partnership helped motivate a $5 million gift from the Jim Pattison Foundation to establish KGH as one of Canada’s only regional centres for health systems research and innovation. 

Time and again, the theme of collaboration is woven through the stories of impact that your gifts make possible. Your generosity has allowed KGH’s cardiac team to radically expand their capacity to take on new patients. And for some, giving comes in the form of time. I hope you enjoy our cheeky celebration of just a few of our ‘first-class’ volunteers.

As the bleary days of winter give way to the promise of spring, my hope is that it stokes the spark of initiative in all of us, especially you. We have work to do. And if we’ve learned anything these past few years it is this: We are truly better together. 

In gratitude, 

Allie Young 

CEO, KGH Foundation