Peter & Karen MacDonald Establish Named Endowment with the QEH Foundation
JUNE 13, 2024
CHARLOTTETOWN – Thanks to a $1 million gift from Peter and Karen MacDonald, Islanders can look forward to ongoing advancements in cancer care for years to come.
With this gift, Peter and Karen MacDonald have established an endowment fund from which the annual income will fund advanced equipment, technology, and other initiatives for the PEI Cancer Treatment Centre. In recognition of this inspiring commitment to cancer care in Prince Edward Island, the Centre’s CT Simulator Suite was named in their honour.
The Peter and Karen MacDonald CT Simulator Suite was unveiled today at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital during the public announcement of the couple’s $1 million donation. John Gaudet, chair of the QEH Foundation Board, thanked the MacDonalds for their commitment to the Island’s main referral hospital and home of the provincial cancer treatment centre.
“We are very honored that Peter and Karen recognized the need and made this commitment through action that will help our cancer care teams deliver the very best care to our Island residents. Their generous gift is an inspiration to all Islanders.”
Dr. Colin Brown, Provincial Department Head of Oncology and a Radiation Oncologist at the PEI Cancer Treatment Centre (CTC), noted that the CTC has approximately 20,000 patient visits per year, and the complexity of cancer care increasingly requires advanced technologies.
“Advancements in cancer treatment are helping our patients live longer, more comfortable lives. We are grateful that our Island community is ensuring we have the ability to access technologies required to continue making this a reality,” says Brown. “On behalf of the entire team at the PEI Cancer Treatment Centre and all other QEH departments involved in supporting our work, thank you for this amazing gift.”
Peter and Karen MacDonald have a deep admiration for Prince Edward Island and have been generous supporters of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for many years. Peter served on the QEH Foundation Board of Directors from 2016 until 2021 and was treasurer for the last two years of his term. Karen spent her entire career in radiology at Charlottetown Hospital, QEH and PCH. She worked in general radiography and angiography at QEH, and then 25 years in mammography at PCH and QEH.
Together they owned the MacDonald Automotive Group consisting of D. Alex MacDonald Ford for the past 40 years, Fair Isle Ford Charlottetown and Montague for the past 18 years, and Summerside Hyundai for ten years. Their philanthropy is a way to give back to the Island community that has so generously supported their businesses over that time.
Peter spoke at the event thanking staff of these companies, whom many attended the celebration, noting their dedication has contributed to the success of their business, along with their many loyal customers. Peter also thanked his late parents, D. Alex and Kathleen MacDonald, who also created an endowed fund supporting cancer care at the QEH. Peter quoted his father in saying, “If you live in a community and earn your living here, then you have an obligation to put money back into your community.”
This is not Peter and Karen’s first leadership gift to the QEH Foundation. In addition to their annual giving, in 2017 Peter and Karen donated a $250,000 paid-up life insurance policy to the Foundation, becoming part of the QEH Legacy Society – those who have identified as having a planned gift.
“Karen and I are deeply committed to supporting our community, and we believe that quality healthcare is fundamental” says MacDonald. “By contributing to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation, we hope to ensure that the PEI Cancer Treatment Centre has the resources it needs to continue the exceptional care that many of our family and friends have benefited from.”
The QEH Foundation raises funds for all services within the Queen Elizabeth Hospital including the PEI Cancer Treatment Centre.
