Community charities open helping home near hospital
Sun 07 June 2009
Chelsey Parish, Journalism
Nambour hospital patients and their families can now access affordable emergency accommodation close to the hospital at the new Reed Charity House.
The Sunshine Coast Health Foundation (SCHF), in collaboration with the Reed Charity Foundation and the Australian Red Cross, has opened an emergency hospital accommodation centre in Nambour.
SCHF manager Lisa Rowe said the need for the accommodation facility was bought to her attention by hospital staff and social workers because existing emergency accommodation in the area did not cater for everyone’s needs.
“The policy of referral was restricted largely to the families of intensive care patients,” Miss Rowe said.
“Those who weren’t able to access those beds were a large number of special care baby mums, who needed to be close (to the hospital).”
The SCHF used profits from its main revenue stream, the multi-storey hospital car park, to purchase the land for Reed Charity House.
Miss Rowe said the SCHF was fortunate to have such a reliable source of revenue to help fund such projects.
The hospital car park was a government revenue stream that had been leased to the foundation for 10 years.
“It generates about $400,000 a year net profit after all our costs are taken out,” Miss Rowe said.
“We inject the surplus profits back into the health system.”
The $2.7 million accommodation facility opened in April 2009, and had a total of 12 single rooms, six double rooms and two rooms for people with physical disabilities.
The entire centre was also wheelchair friendly, featuring lifts and ramps.
A communal laundry and easy access parking were also available to all guests staying at the centre.
Guests shared a four bedroom unit, and the communal kitchen, bathroom and living areas had all been furnished with brand new and modern appliances, entertainment units and furniture.
The furnishings for the unit were donated entirely by local charities, businesses and Sunshine Coast residents.
Miss Rowe said the generosity of the community in furnishing the building was exceptional.
“Local Rotary clubs rallied together and pretty much furnished the building, along with support from individuals and business people from all over,” Miss Rowe said.
Management of the accommodation centre was handed to the Australian Red Cross, and teams of volunteers now ran the centre along with two live-in carers. 
Red Cross community development officer Tony Sandy said there was a steady stream of guests arriving daily, but that the accommodation centre was currently only operating at about 30 per cent capacity.
Mr Sandy the facility was not yet operating at full capacity, as the centre was only recently opened and hospital patients and family did not realise the facility was available.
“We need to get our name out there,” Mr Sandy explained.
The accommodation centre was available to anyone who needed to stay close to the Nambour hospital.
“If you need to go to hospital or a family member needs to go to hospital, you can stay here at our accommodation centre,” Mr Sandy said.
Mr Sandy said those guests who had stayed at the centre had been very satisfied with the facilities and staff.
“We have had a great response from clients so far, some of the volunteers have even received gifts,” Mr Sandy said.
Funding for stage three of the Reed Charity House is now underway.
Miss Rowe said the final stage of the project was to install a $250, 000 ramp at the back of the building to provide direct and secure access to the hospital for those staying at the House.
“That ramp is our big priority because it is stopping mums from using that facility as they can’t get to and from their babies quickly enough,” Miss Rowe said.
Miss Rowe hoped the funding would be approved for stage three of the building in a few months.
The SCHF plans to inject $1 million into the local health system in 2009 in the form of training, hospital equipment, research projects and service support.
Miss Rowe said that in the past 11 years the SCHF had raised $6 million in community and foundation fundraising, and had invested the money into improving the quality of the region’s health system.
“We are all about fundraising, about working with the local community to harness fundraising support and dollars and to keep them local,” Miss Rowe said.
“We inject the funds raised back into a health system that will potentially benefit everyone on the Sunshine Coast.”
Charity organisations like the Australian Red Cross and the SCHF play a very important role in ensuring the Sunshine Coast’s health services are accessible to the wider community.
“It’s important that there are services out there helping people that are vulnerable,” Mr Sandy said.
Image(s) designed by Chelsey Parish