A NEW donor has come forward to finalise a fundraising campaign to bring endoscopy services in Far North Queensland, to a tertiary level.
The Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation’s “Show us ya guts” campaign has now raised $423, 000 to bring a new service to the region’s gastroenterology patients.
Foundation chairman Dr Ken Chapman said the new service would be able to diagnose and treat patients with disorders of the oesophagus and small intestine.
“What this new equipment does is bring a new service to the Far North that we didn’t have before but we believe people here deserve it and now because of the community, they’re going to get it,” Dr Chapman said.
“This is really exciting for us because it means the community, through the Foundation, has now brought cardiology and gastroenterology to tertiary level and that’s what we’re all about,” he said.
The campaign was brought to a conclusion with a large donation from Alex and Violetta Sekler, who had been watching the Foundation’s work and made contact to find out how much was needed to reach the goal.
The couple have contributed to philanthropic causes around the world and as this is their new home, decided they wanted to help their new local community. “We had been watching what the Foundation was doing, could see their work helps thousands of people, and we are fortunate enough to be able to help make a difference,” Mrs Sekler said.
Cairns Hospital Director of Medicine Dr Peter Boyd said it was a longstanding dream to bring the unit to tertiary level. “All the staff are just so grateful for what the Foundation and the community has done to bring this to a reality. We had the clinicians, including a world-renowned expert, and now we have the equipment so it’s very exciting for our patients who can be diagnosed and treated here without having to travel further afield,” Dr Boyd said.
Other contributors to the campaign included the Leslie and Anne Mills’ $75, 000 gift in honour of her brother Charlie Woodward, an anonymous donor who contributed $47, 000, Lyn Seles, Rod Sherrington, Brilliant Technologies, Chapman Foundation, Northern Frontier Foundation, BDO North Queensland and Rotary Club of Cairns West. Events that contributed include the Wayne Leonard’s Motorcycle Muster with $63, 000, CBA Golf Day, Cairns Post Club, FNQHF Market Day and ANZ Golf Day.
Photo: Violetta Sekler and Dr Peter Boyd with some endoscopy equipment.
