CAR washes, high teas, meat trays, charity balls and individual donations, have helped improve health services in Tully.
Almost $20,000 worth of equipment has been bought for the Tully Hospital through the Tully Friends of the Foundation, a subsidiary of the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation.
Third-generation cane farmer Santo and wife Maria Silvestro also contributed to the purchases, out of gratitude for the hospital.
“They saved my life, let’s be honest. I’m a farmer so I’m up there a bit and when I had a heart attack, they literally saved my life so our donation was an expression of our gratitude,” Mr Silvestro said.
Tully Friends of the Foundation president Suzette Reis said she and her dedicated team of volunteers were so excited to get some more equipment into their hospital.
“We’ve been working very hard in the community and things are starting to happen,” Mrs Reis said.
Tully Hospital Acting Director of Nursing Vicki Harragon said the Swifi chair was a transfer chair equipped with flip-up armrests, an open-sided seat and a retractable footrest with side foot control, to respect the patient’s intimacy and dignity. It also has a foot control brake which is easily operated by a nurse.
“The Swifi Chair has an IV pole, oxygen cylinder holder, and patient chart holder. This makes it very easy to transfer a patient from the Emergency Department to the ward,” Ms Harragon said.
“The bladder scanner is used for the measurement of urinary residue. Nurses are able to evaluate the presence of urinary retention, monitor the volume and the excessive relaxation of the bladder and avoid unnecessary catheterisations. A bladder scan uses a non-invasive, portable ultrasound device that provides a virtual 3D image of the bladder and the volume of urine retained within the bladder
“The Urine Analyser is easy to use and convenient for nurses when testing urine. It has a simple, touchscreen operation. The nurse loads the test strip and the analyser does the rest. The results are fast, test results take about a minute. An automatic printed report is delivered omitting the manual transcription.
“Tully Hospital is extremely grateful for the hard work that the Tully Friends of the Foundation undertake to raise money and ensure the hospital has the required equipment for the community,” Ms Harragon said.
Foundation CEO Gina Hogan said the Tully group was one of the newer groups in the stable of Friends but was extremely active in the community.
r “This is a very hard-working group of volunteers who are absolutely dedicated to their community and the proof is in the pudding. They’ve put the hard work in and here’s the equipment to show for it,” Mrs Hogan said.
Photo: Christine Boric, Diane Brown, Suzette Reis, Melissa la Spina sitting and Tully Hospital’s Acting Director of Nursing and Midwifery Vicki Bright.
