Sick kids across the west will benefit from state-of-the-art facilities at Sunshine Hospital’s upgraded children’s ward.
The new ward was opened last week.
It will care for more than 7300 sick kids a year and includes a renovated bathing room, a negative-pressure room for infection control, a five-bed day procedure recovery unit, a high-care unit with new monitoring systems for patients with asthma and other respiratory problems, and a child-friendly staff centre.
Before its redevelopment, the ward, the only dedicated children’s health care centre in the region, was in desperate need of an upgrade.
Local businesswoman and mother of three Jenny Sadler, who owns eight McDonald’s franchises across the west, worked closely with the Western Health Foundation on a year-long public appeal that raised more than $1.1 million.
Ms Sadler herself raised more than $118,000 from a fundraising dinner at the Moonee Valley Racing Club.
The hospital raised money through the annual Western Health race day at Flemington, community events such as the Walk West along the Maribyrnong River, and significant donations by local businesses.
Ronald McDonald House Charity donated $200,000 to fully fund a family room to create a temporary home-away-from home for the families of sick kids.
“The transformation is amazing,” Ms Sadler said.
Western Health chief executive Alex Cockram said the upgrade meant Sunshine Hospital was better equipped to deal with rising demand for paediatric care across the west.
“The children’s ward has been transformed from one of the most rundown wards within Western Health, to one of the most engaging,” she said.
Watergardens Town Centre and nine McDonald’s stores in the west raised $8000 last December by running a gift wrap service in the lead-up to Christmas.
