As Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation celebrates $100 million in donations, its CEO Carrick Robinson reflects on the powerful impact of donor generosity.
At Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation, we want children to receive the best health care possible. As the biggest funder of Perth Children’s Hospital after government, we fuel the fight on the frontline of children’s health, helping sick kids get well and stay well.
This year, we’re celebrating $100 million in donations to Perth Children’s Hospital and Health Service since the foundation’s modern inception and are proud to have played an integral role in advancing children’s health care in WA.
Our modern-day journey began in 1998, when the PMH Foundation was formally established as the official fundraiser for the hospital. In the first year, we raised more than $2 million which provided the hospital with its first grant to purchase equipment for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Fast forward 24 years and the state-of-the-art PCH has become a leading research and training hospital, offering world-class patient care.
Through the remarkable support of our donor partners and the unwavering generosity of the WA community, the foundation is raising the bar.
PCH is now home to some of the world’s leading medical minds in childhood cancer, vaccinology and immunology, burn injuries and radiology, to name a few. Drawn to PCH by its reputation for excellence in research and clinical programs, these clinicians are at the forefront of health-care advances, developing cutting edge interventions and therapies that WA kids are benefiting from first.
Over the years, donor contributions have funded innovative technology including a space infusion station, a panel of drug pumps making intraoperative MRIs safer and quicker for children undergoing brain tumour removal, and a carbon floating surgical table, an adjustable imaging table allowing patient movement in any direction whilst interventional radiology is under way.
There have been many ‘firsts’ on both the national and international stage: The Stan Perron Centre of Excellence for Childhood Burns, led by world renowned burns specialist Professor Fiona Wood; the world’s first rare diseases centre focusing on the whole life journey; the Early Moves study – a world-first aiming to diagnose babies at risk of developmental delays via home videos recorded through a smart phone app; and Australian-first research paving the way for the nation’s first clinical exercise service for children living with chronic diseases.
We know that hospital can be a daunting and stressful experience and have invested in positive experiences for patients and their families including an artist-in-residence program and music therapy.
We are proud of funding the Kids’ Bridge connecting the hospital campus to Kings Park and the healing power of nature. There is strong evidence that being around nature boosts health and wellbeing, and aids recovery. This unique project helps patients, families and staff.
WA’s first children’s hospice is on track to open in 2024 and will offer a nurturing environment for children living with a life-limiting illness. This much-needed facility will focus on celebrating life and provide specialist care and treatment in the one place when the time comes. For families, it will offer respite care and support during an incredibly difficult journey.
Other significant and exciting projects are in the pipeline and will be revealed in the coming months.
Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation is ranked WA’s fourth largest philanthropic foundation in terms of funds distributed and is making a significant difference to the lives of sick children not just here at home but across the nation and around the world.