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We fund medical equipment to assist children throughout all kinds of treatment. This year, we contributed over $788,000 towards life-changing medical equipment and services, such as purchasing the latest technology in humidifiers for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) to help patients’ airways and lungs function as best they can.
Jennifer Hurn, Equipment and Transport Facilitator Nurse Consultant in PICU, explains, “PICU uses humidifiers for all patients who require a breathing tube and ventilator and those who require increased oxygen at high flow rates.”
“Humidification of oxygen and air helps to maintain the normal functions of the airways in the lungs.”
“The humidifiers basically replace the function of the nose by warming and humidifying the air that we breathe in.”
There are lots of advantages to the new systems. There is less condensation in the circuits, they are touch screen, they have more intuitive alarms with troubleshooting advice, and are longer lasting.
Over 150 patients can be seen in the Allied Health hand therapy clinics a month. A common practice during these clinics is fitting splints.
Occupational Therapy Manager, Sue Van De Loo, explains, “It is very rare for children to fit standard off-the-shelf hand splints to support and protect their hands and fingers with fractures, tendon repairs and/or complex hand surgery.”
“Paediatric patients require custom-made hand splints, specifically positioned to maximise recovery and hand function.”
“The thermoplastic product used to make the splints can be heated in a heat pan and molded to each individual child, giving them a lightweight removable splint.”
One of the two heat pans used daily to make these splints suddenly ceased working, and was unable to be repaired. To fix this, we funded the purchase of two new splint pans.
The new models have many extra benefits. They’re larger, enabling larger splints for teenagers to be made more efficiently, and have improved infection control and safety features.
Provided vital equipment and services to over 139,000 patients who relied on the Hospital.
Reduced stress and created calmer spaces for families through 142 Music for Wellness sessions.
Helped 160 families experiencing financial hardship through our Family Support Programs.
PICU clinical nurse, Melissa Thompson, was awarded the Matthew Scriver PICU Nurses scholarship in 2022, and explored complementary therapies, such as art therapy and music, to ease stress, anxiety and pain, and promote a sense of calm in the busy PICU environment.
As a result of Melissa’s work, our music for wellness program has now been extended into PICU, with harpist Ilona Weir performing weekly. Parents have expressed how Ilona’s harp music creates a calming space for the patients and families in this challenging environment.
Ilona says, “The gentle sounds of the harp can help to provide a calmer atmosphere in a busy and stressful environment. Studies have shown that the use of music in intensive care units can decrease anxiety in patients, and it can also help to reduce stress for families and staff.”
“Both parents and staff have commented that the music is very soothing, and that it helps to keep them calm.”
Our Arts in Health Program contributed over $727,000 this year to promote patient wellbeing and reduce stress patients may feel.
Through this program, we provided creative support to 10-year-old Zoë to develop her own solo exhibition in the Women’s and Children’s Hospital – ‘Eternal Flames and Soaring Spirits’.
Zoë is a patient under the care of the Michael Rice Centre for Haematology and Oncology and has a “huge passion for art”.
This support has ensured that Zoë is seen as more than her Leukaemia diagnosis and allows her creativity and art talents to shine.
The inspiration behind this particular exhibition comes from Zoë’s love and fascination for dragons.
She says, “I think dragons have been helping me through my sickness because when I think about dragons, I feel stronger. I think that dragons are not monsters but just misunderstood mythical creatures.”
“I thank my mum, dad, friends and dragons for supporting me through my sickness and being kind to me.”
The equipment and facilities provided have meant Mia is comfortable, as well as the rest of us. We are very thankful as it gave our family some quality time to rest, reset and connect, and make the most of our time with Mia.
16-year-old Dilraj has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a severe type of muscular dystrophy, and is cared for by the Hospital.
His family were keen to visit our Laklinyeri Beach House after hearing that it was a fully accessible holiday home – something that is a rarity for them.
Dilraj’s mum, Manpreet, explains, “Most places are not accessible for holidays, and if you do go for an accessible house, it’s very expensive. We can’t afford it. So we were very lucky to get into the Beach House.”
The Beach House in Victor Harbor is purpose-built and medically equipped for families of children in palliative care, or with complex medical needs. We contributed over $223,000 this year to fund 42 family stays.
The highlight of the trip for this family was being able to get away to a place they knew Dilraj could fully enjoy.
Manpreet says, “Dilraj liked the room because it’s very big – he doesn’t have this much space at home! Most of all he liked the bathroom because everything is accessible.”
The Laklinyeri Beach House is a place for families to make treasured memories, and Mia’s family made some extra special ones during their stay.
Two-year-old Mia has Tay-Sachs disease and is under the care of the Women’s and Children’s Health Network Paediatric Palliative Care Service.
She had the chance to stay at our Beach House and her parents, Sarah and Jacob, chose to use this opportunity to get married in the local region!
Sarah, Mia and her brothers, Hunter and Aston, got ready together at the Beach House the morning of the wedding. The family then had a beautiful ceremony and reception with family and friends at a local park and spent the rest of the week at the Beach House, relaxing and enjoying this special time together.
Sarah said, “Staying here has been an overwhelming and beautiful experience that we will cherish forever.”
42 families created precious memories at our Laklinyeri Beach House.
Invested over $2.5 million in health and medical research in South Australia.
Over 100 babies in, or at risk of entering, foster care referred to our Cocoon Program since its inception.
A child’s diagnosis or hospitalisation can often be unexpected and place pressure on families, with parents needing to reduce, or resign from, their means of income to be available through their child’s time of need.
We work in collaboration with the Hospital’s Social Work Service to identify families experiencing hardship due to the impact of their child’s illness.
We contributed over $150,000 this year to assist 160 families with items such as emergency transport, accommodation, groceries, utility bills and maintenance of medical equipment to use at home.
Colin Sparrow, Manager, Social Work Services, says, “Access to Family Support Programs can make the difference between a parent being able to spend time with their baby in hospital with the provision of a fuel voucher, the difference between a family being able to stay close to the hospital with the provision of a night’s accommodation, or the difference between keeping the electricity on where a parent has had their income impacted by their child’s hospitalisation.”
A year since its launch, more than 100 babies have now been referred to our Cocoon Program.
We contributed over $316,000 this year to specialist, coordinated care for babies under 12 months old with medical complexity and interaction with the Department for Child Protection.
For many caregivers, trying to navigate and access the support a baby may need can be complex and challenging. But now, these caregivers can bring their baby to be seen by a highly skilled team to make care as seamless as possible.
The demand for this program has exceeded expectations. The results have been encouraging so far and the team has uncovered a much greater unmet need for these young babies than they had originally anticipated.
Feedback from caregivers during this first year has been incredibly positive too. We have received great responses about how simple and seamless it has become to access the support they need for an infant under their temporary or long-term care.
Through the Cocoon Program I have access to a specialised and diverse team who can support the job I am doing, so that together we can achieve better outcomes for our vulnerable children.
Our 2023 WCH Foundation Bloom Research Program grant round called for projects to bring new hope to kids with brain cancer – and Professors Jordan Hansford and Simon Barry answered that call with two projects hoping to understand the predictors of survivorship and explore new treatments for brain cancer.
Professor Hansford and his team have been biobanking brain tumour samples, preserving them and making them accessible to researchers globally. The team have started advanced investigation into the predictors of late effects in long-term survivors of paediatric brain cancer. They’re using the latest technologies to learn from the samples and share the knowledge worldwide.
While Professor Simon Barry and his team are focusing on immunotherapy for brain cancer, so that children may both survive, and thrive. This revolutionary treatment is already standard for some young people with leukaemia.
Key experts have established the SA Centre for Paediatric Cancer Immunotherapy, which is hoped will eventually pave the way for clinical delivery of immunotherapy here in SA.
Thank you to our generous community who have ensured we can continue to support our Women’s and Children’s Health Network.
Together, we can improve the health and wellbeing of women, children and their families.