CityLife Magazine Second Quarter 2020

CityLife FEATURE
Supporting Our
Health Workers
Pictured (L-R:) FNQ Hospital Foundation Interim CEO
Tony Williamson and Chairman Ken Chapman
By Robyn Rankin
The community and the Far North
Queensland Hospital Foundation are well
on their way to answering the call put out
by hospitals for extra resources to help
battle the COVID-19 epidemic as it rolls
out over coming months.
“The hospitals across the region and
their staff put out the call to us and we
as a community and the Foundation, are
answering it,” Foundation chairman Dr
Ken Chapman said.
“This is a special list of extraordinary
additional equipment to allow the staff to
be incredibly well-prepared and resourced
as this pandemic rolls out over the coming
months,” he said.
“We need to support the staff of these
hospitals who are the heroes of this time.”
“They put out the
call and we as a
community need to
answer it.”
In just a few short weeks we have raised
$832,000 for this campaign and also
committed $1,500,000 from commercial
income, general donations and monies
donated for individual hospitals across the
region. That leaves only $574,000 still to
be raised.
Foundation CEO Tony Williamson said
the lofty target was set after gaining a
wishlist from the Cairns and Hinterland
Hospital and Health Service of COVID-
19-related equipment for eight local
hospitals, including Cairns.
Funds donated to specific hospitals for
general purposes, also adds to the tally.
“As we’ve all seen, this virus is not
contained to the big cities, it is spreading
everywhere and by supporting the small
hospitals with the equipment they tell us
they’d like, we’re supporting everyone,”
Mr Williamson said.
“Cairns Hospital along with the
Mossman, Mareeba, Atherton, Yarrabah,
Babinda, Innisfail and Tully hospitals all
need equipment over-and-above what the
governments provide and in addition to
current money raised,” he said.
Hospitals within the Cairns and
Hinterland Hospital and Health Service
are well-prepared for COVID-19. These
hospitals have identified there is extra
equipment that will help them better care
for an expected influx of patients with
COVID-19.
“While the State Government has
provided significant funding, community
support can provide additional medical
and intensive care equipment that will
have far reaching benefits to all in the Far
North,” Mr Williamson said.
The extra equipment includes items
such as ventilators, iPads to assist with
telehealth, resuscitation trolleys, oxygen
regulators, videolaryngoscopes, highflow
oxygen devices, and CPAP machines.
“Those individual hospitals are seeking
between $200,000 and $300,000 each
and we are seeking $566,000 for Cairns
Hospital,” Mr Williamson said.
To help finalise the fundraising
campaign and raise the final
$573,000, call the Foundation’s
fundraising office on 4226 6327 or
donate online at wwww.fnqhf.org.
au/coronavirus.
CityLife 40
Magazine