A loved one. Neighbour. Co-worker. You. Since 1987, patients from across the province requiring specialized life-saving and life-enhancing physical and mental health care have been supported on their journeys at RUH by Leslie and Irene Dubé.
Through their entrepreneurial spirit, community service and philanthropy, the couple who founded the Concorde Group of Companies in Saskatoon more than 60 years ago has set an inspiring example for charitable leadership in our community.
As their company diversified across western Canada, Les and Irene never lost sight of the need and desire to share their blessings with those most vulnerable in our community.
“Philanthropy feeds the soul and sharing our blessings with others brings us great peace,” says Irene. Les adds, “We truly want to leave the world better than when we came in.”
Les and Irene’s support of RUH, totalling nearly $8 million, has been instrumental in advancing patient care excellence and innovation at RUH. Their generosity has been pivotal in helping keep the province’s largest clinical, teaching and research hospital at the forefront of modern medicine in Saskatchewan.
In addition, the Dubés are members of the Royal Legacy Giving Society as they have agreed to leave a gift in their Will to RUH Foundation that will continue into the future.
Driven by their deep faith, they hope their actions will inspire others to do the same. “Never doubt the impact of your gift, regardless of the amount; it will make a huge difference to those in need,” says Les.
RUH Foundation is extremely grateful for Les and Irene’s vision, selfless giving, and ongoing commitment to enhancing the patient and family experience at RUH and their support of the hospital’s dedicated and world-class medical teams.
The following are a few of the couple’s notable donations that have made a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of patients and their families from across the province and their care providers at RUH:
- 2024 – SPECT-CT Imaging Scanner: $2 million gift to purchase RUH’s first dual modality SPECT-CT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography – Computed Tomography) imaging scanner used in the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of various cancers, neurological tumours; pulmonary embolisms, seizure disorders, dementia, and Alzheimer’s, to name a few examples. In 2023, RUH’s SPECT cameras purchased almost 20 years ago generated more than 7,700 scans performed on nearly 4,500 patients. The new SPECT-CT will shorten scan times, generate higher image quality, and lower radiopharmaceutical and x-ray doses needed during the scans.
- 2019 – Community Mental Health Endowment: $1 million contribution establishing the Irene and Leslie Dubé Centre Community Mental Health Endowment for clinical, teaching, and research priorities at The Irene and Leslie Dubé Centre for Mental Health at Royal University Hospital.
- 2017 – Mental Health Assessment/Short Stay Units: $1 million donation to create a temporary seven-bed unit to ensure patients with emergent mental health concerns had a quiet, calmer assessment and treatment environment before the opening of the new Adult Emergency Department in 2019. It was transformed into a short-stay acute mental health unit that opened in 2021 to accommodate patients with, for example, a drug-induced psychosis, a need to adjust medications, or to stabilize symptoms of a significant psychiatric disorder.
- 2016 – Rural and Remote Tele-Robotic Ultrasound Imaging System: $300,000 gift supporting the purchase of the first MELODY® ultrasound imaging system used to deliver real-time medical assessment, diagnosis and care management to patients living in remote and rural communities, propelling RUH and U of S College of Medicine to the forefront of telerobotic medical imaging in North America.
- 2011 – ICU Vital Sign Monitors: $500,000 donation completed the $2.5 million Royal Vital Care Campaign by purchasing 17 new vital sign monitors and central monitoring equipment, and renovations to the family waiting rooms in the newly expanded Intensive Care Unit.
- 2006 – Irene and Leslie Dubé Centre for Mental Health: $3 million leadership gift launched the Future in Mind Campaign that contributed more than $8 million, 35 percent of the local contribution, for costs associated with building a new adult, youth, and child mental health inpatient unit that opened in 2010 adjacent to RUH. In 2022–23, the 71-bed unit provided care to more than 1,200 patients, with the average length of stay being 17 days.
- 1987 – Hospital Expansion: $10,000 donation to support funding for two Surgery Unit beds.
Thank You Irene and Les Dubé!
Read more inspiring stories in our Spring 2024 Milestones or make your donation now.
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