Vasili's Fundraiser

Here I am, training for my 5 km run for the WCH foundation

WCH Foundation Impact Update from last year

Family Support Programs

Below are just some of the ways WCH Foundation helped sick kids and their families last year. Our Family Support Programs continue to provide a safety net for families who are being cared for by the Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN). In the past year, over $120,000 has assisted more than 130 families to receive immediate help at a time when they needed it most.

We work in collaboration with the Hospital’s Social Work team to identify families experiencing hardship due to the impact of their child’s illness. The Programs assist families from all walks of life, including those from regional areas, meaning that the impact of the Foundation reaches families from across South Australia, Northern Territory, Broken Hill and the Sunraysia Region of Victoria.

Family Support Programs assist families with the costs related to a child’s hospitalisation or ill-health with items such as emergency transport, accommodation, groceries, maintenance of medical equipment to use at home, and utility bills.

Play Therapy

We support the amazing Play Therapists at the Hospital through our Arts in Health program.

Play Therapists are health professionals who work with patients and their families to minimise the anxiety, stress and trauma associated with being unwell and in hospital.

Their role doesn’t just involve kids playing with toys. They also provide distraction to minimise stress and fear, prepare and support patients for procedures, give emotional support, provide clothing and toiletries in emergencies, connect children to their home life and schooling, contribute to a vibrant hospital environment and create positive, fun and meaningful experiences.

Their goal is to allow children to ‘feel what they feel’ and give them a safe space to communicate this.

We have substantially invested in Play Therapy, increasing the number of Play Therapists from five to 11 full-time positions. 

Parent and Family-Centred Care

Having a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) can feel isolating and scary. We’ve funded a project that recognises the importance of Parent and Family-Centred Care (PFCC) to develop and improve family connections and resilience during these stays and to facilitate a confident transition home.

Part of this project includes the placement of Sharon Sands, a PFCC Representative who supports families on their Hospital journey. Her role is to embed families’ feedback into tailoring service delivery.

Book Buddies

In the unfamiliar sounds of a hospital, reading aloud to children helps to normalise the environment and has a calming effect for patients and their families.

The Book Buddies project is a joint initiative of the WCH Foundation and Hospital School SA, with expertise from the members of the Children’s Book Council of South Australia. Qualified book readers visit the wards to encourage reading, improve literacy skills and provide a distraction for patients.

Through our Arts in Health program, we provide books for patients to keep each time a Book Buddy visits, which they can enjoy for years to come.

Laklinyeri Beach House

Our Laklinyeri Beach House has continued to be a special place of togetherness for families to reconnect or to take time out of their rigorous hospital routines to relax and recuperate. It is a purpose-built holiday facility for families who have a child in Palliative Care or Complex Care, as well as for bereaved families.

Virtual Reality Headsets

Kids across the WCHN are ocean diving with sea creatures, snuggling kittens at cat cafés and relaxing at the beach, all during their healthcare appointments!

Smileyscopes are medical-grade Virtual Reality goggles used as a non-pharmacologic aide for pain and anxiety management. It also has wellness and mindfulness content and deep breathing exercises for relaxation and wellbeing.

Using VR for paediatric patients has been found to reduce a child’s pain by up to 60%.

Investing in Medical Research

Breast milk can protect babies from ear infections, vomiting, diarrhoea, chest infections, and asthma. However, some mothers of preterm infants can face challenges initiating and sustaining breastfeeding within the Hospital prior to taking their baby home.

Breastfeeding rates in babies born late preterm are lower than those born at term.

We’ve funded research by Dr Amy Keir to establish improved breastfeeding support for women with late preterm babies to increase these rates. The multidisciplinary team includes Lactation Consultants Susie Jones, Laura Summers and Jess Ramsay.

The research has shaped a greater understanding of the challenges families and healthcare professionals face in providing breastmilk to babies born early and how to overcome them.

This study is one of many we have supported, with over $600,000 invested in medical research last year.

Out of Home Care Clinic

The Out of Home Care (OOHC) Clinic at the Hospital provides health assessments and reviews for children and young people under the Guardianship of the Chief Executive Officer of the Department for Child Protection (DCP). The clinic has relocated to a quieter spot in the Hospital, and we helped create a more welcoming and calming space at this new location with the purchase of much-needed furniture, toys, books, iPads, and sensory aids.

‘Gift bags’ have been created to acknowledge the incredible bravery shown by many of the young people who attend the clinic, a sensory calming room has been furnished for young consumers who may find the usual waiting room overwhelming or who may need some time away from a difficult discussion, and iPads have been purchased for distractions.

Together, these resources have allowed staff to create a service which better responds to the physical and emotional needs of their vulnerable consumer group.

CaFHS Regional Support

Child and Family Health Service (CaFHS) provides a key role in the screening of infants and children at over 100 locations across South Australia, from Mount Gambier to Coober Pedy and everywhere in between.

The service completes approximately 11,000 preschool health and development checks each year. As part of these checks, vision screening is imperative in identifying issues that are detectable and treatable. Early identification and treatment of eye and vision problems aims to optimise vision prior to starting school and reduces the likelihood of permanent vision loss.

We have funded 122 Kay Picture Test vision screening books – the ‘gold standard’ for vision assessment of four- to five-year-olds. Children engage in the fun ‘game’ of identifying the book’s pictures from a distance to test their eyesight.

The books are significantly more user friendly and more age-appropriate than the previous charts used and are highly accurate and readily portable.

Emergency Equipment

The Paediatric Emergency Department (PED) at the Hospital will soon be receiving a new Fluoroscan® Imaging system.

This machine helps children with small fractures be managed in the PED, avoiding admission and going to theatre. It is generally used for imaging during closed reduction procedures where the fractured bone is set without surgery. The small machine allows the clinician to see that the bone is aligned in the right place, allowing it to grow back together and heal correctly.