Victoria’s second Vietnamese nursing home will open at Cairnlea next year after what’s believed to be one of the biggest fundraising campaigns in Australia’s history.
Almost $700,000 has been raised so far, thanks to some “extraordinary” fundraisers from the Australian Vietnamese Health Professionals Association, and the generosity of religious groups, businesses and individuals across Brimbank and beyond.
Works on the 60-bed, 6000 square metre, $16.5million home are due to be completed by the end of the year.
Fundraising committee co-chair Dr Nhan Phuc Pham said the Vietnamese community has grown exponentially over the past four decades, but there’s just one Vietnamese-owned and operated nursing home in Victoria – the 64-bed Mekong nursing home at Keilor East, which is unable to meet demand.
The AVHPA has good form when it comes to raising coin. It gave $250,000 to Sunshine Hospital’s critical care appeal, which delivered state-of-the-art equipment for cancer treatment and for women with high risk pregnancies.
“We will witness the power of the community, determined to build our nursing home for the sunset of life for our grandparents, parents and all of us here in Australia,” Dr Pham said.
“We can say that this historic fundraising is the biggest in Australian history.”
He said the nursing home was in a quiet, convenient location close to Sunshine Hospital.
Just over half of the beds will be available for any Australian Vietnamese resident while the rest will be reserved for donors.
