- Posted on March 8, 2024
Patient Stories: Denise Case
How She Shares group gives women a voice in healthcare decisions
Denise Case was intrigued when she heard about She Shares, the women-led giving circle at St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation.
A group where women decide which essential hospital equipment they’ll fund together? It sounded like something she wanted to be part of.
Denise, a former cardiac patient at St. Mary’s, sat in on a recent She Shares voting meeting, where members gathered to hear pitches from hospital staff before deciding to fund vital equipment for the urology and day surgery departments.
After that, Denise was hooked.
“It was so empowering to see women having a voice in our healthcare system,” says Denise, who joined She Shares shortly after attending the meeting.
She Shares began in 2017 after foundation CEO Susan Dusick met with a handful of women to discuss her dream of bringing a women’s giving circle to St. Mary’s.
The group hit the ground with five founding members. Six years later, its membership has ballooned to 80 with hopes of reaching 100 in 2024 to celebrate the hospital’s 100th anniversary.
She Shares members gather each December to decide which pieces of equipment they’ll fund using their pooled membership fees. To date, the group has raised nearly $300,000 for the hospital.
Denise has been a St. Mary’s supporter long before joining She Shares.
In 2019, at age 55, Denise needed open-heart surgery to replace a faulty valve. She decided on a Ross procedure, done by Dr. Kassem Ashe, one of the province’s top cardiac surgeons.
The technique, which uses a patient’s pulmonary valve to replace a diseased aortic valve, is reserved for patients under age 60 and reduces the likelihood of future replacement valves. St. Mary’s had just begun offering the Ross procedure a year before.
“We donate to St. Mary’s because we recognize that we have a top cardiac centre in our backyard,” says Denise, who also participates in foundation events including RedDAY and Hike for Heart. “We want it to have the equipment it needs to keep going.”
The nature of She Shares as a women-led initiative was also inspiring, Denise says.
“Women have different perspectives from our life experiences, and we need that perspective represented in all aspects of life,” she says. “Healthcare is no exception.”
Are you a Grateful Patient like Nate? Share your story or a message of thanks to St. Mary’s staff.
Visit sheshares.ca to learn more about She Shares Women's Giving Circle.
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