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AUTUMN EDITION eNewsletter |
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Reducing pain can be
child’s play
A
new hand-held play
device is offering young
patients a fresh way to
"escape" pain during
potentially
uncomfortable medical
procedures at the Cairns
Base Hospital.
Just about every parent
has faced the unnerving task of
trying to distract their
child while they are in
pain or about to
experience pain.
It is a regular
challenge for staff in
the Paediatric Ward at
the Cairns Base
Hospital, who are called
upon to administer – and
help children cope with
– painful medical
procedures, sometimes
repeatedly.
However, help is
literally "at hand" for
the hospital staff and
their young patients
now, thanks to dittoTM, a
diversionary therapy
tool designed to reduce
anxiety-related pain.
The Foundation recently
obtained $9,000 from The
Courier-Mail Children’s
Fund to allow the
Paediatric Ward to
purchase two portable
dittoTM
consoles.
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Teesha
Wheeler,
aged three,
enjoys
playing with
the dittoTM
during
visits to
the
Paediatric
Oncology
Treatment
Room at the
Cairns Base
Hospital |
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The devices, equipped
with touch screen and
motion sensor
technology, enable
children to immerse
themselves in
interactive games and
stories during medical
procedures that could
upset them.
Paediatric Ward Nurse
Unit Manager, Caroline
Witter, said the dittoTM
devices had been
clinically proven to
reduce pain and anxiety
levels in young
patients.
"They also include
educational games and
stories to help children
understand why they must
undergo certain medical
procedures," she said.
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Patients – and staff – breathe
easier
thanks to
Foundation Friends in Innisfail
It’s a
situation that hospital staff dread
– what to do when you have two
patients who both desperately need
to use the same piece of live-saving
equipment.
The Innisfail
Hospital owned one portable
ventilator when two patients arrived
in equally urgent need of
respiratory assistance – an elderly
couple, both suffering from carbon
monoxide poisoning.
The pair had
accidentally inhaled a toxic level
of fumes produced by their home
generator, after they lost power
during Cyclone Yasi.
Fortunately, the
hospital had borrowed another
portable ventilator (known as an
Oxylog), from the Cairns Base
Hospital, as part of their emergency
preparations for the cyclone, so
both patients received swift and
successful treatment.
"But
it was sheer chance that we could
cope so smoothly with both,"
observed Lesley Harris, Director of
Nursing at the Innisfail Hospital.
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If a second Oxylog had not been
available, staff would have been forced to
hand-ventilate one of the patients – a
nerve-wracking and exhausting emergency
procedure.
It’s a situation that will not happen again,
thanks to the Friends of the Foundation in
Innisfail.
The tireless fundraising group
purchased an additional Oxylog (worth $26,000)
for the hospital in August last year. And they
haven’t stopped there.
Since the Friends, now two-dozen
strong, formed in January 2012, they have raised
enough money to help the hospital acquire:
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A pair of water-filled
palliative care chairs to help
terminally-ill patients avoid pressure sores
and other pressure-related injuries ($6,000)
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An oxygen analyser to monitor
oxygen levels in baby humidicribs ($2,200),
and
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A BiPAP respiratory support
machine which provides ventilation via a
nasal or mouth mask: the Friends supplied
$18,000 towards the purchase of the $36,000
machine (pictured).
"Thanks to
the hard work of this group, we have been able
to improve both patient care and safety at the
hospital," said Ms Harris.
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A rewarding
friendship
On the
receiving end for once! Innisfail
Friends of the Foundation were
acknowledged for their fantastic
fundraising efforts with an
Australia Day Achievement Award from
the Cassowary Coast Regional Council
in January.
"It’s lovely to know that a person
you know – or might one day know –
is getting what they need in terms
of health care," said Estelle Kopp,
a founding member of the Friends of
the Foundation group in Innisfail.
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Innisfail FoF members
take centre stage at the
Australia Day Awards
ceremony.
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"Every cent we raise
goes directly towards improving
health care services and facilities
in our own community."
Mrs Kopp said
the Australia Day Award was a
wonderful first birthday present for
the dedicated group members..
"I am very proud of
my bunch," she said.
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Friendly
get-together
The
Foundation
will hold
its
inaugural
Friends of
the
Foundation
Conference
at the
Cairns Base
Hospital on
16 March –
in
recognition
of the
growing role
that Friends
play in the
fundraising
efforts of
the
Foundation.
There are
currently
five Friends
of the
Foundation (FoF)
groups,
located at
Cooktown,
Mareeba, Cow
Bay,
Gordonvale
and
Innisfail.
"These
tireless
volunteer
groups are
committed to
helping the
Foundation
improve
health care
facilities
and services
within their
own
communities,"
observed Ken
Chapman,
Chair of the
Foundation
Board.
"They are a
resoundingly
positive
endorsement
of the adage
that
"charity
begins at
home" and a
sterling
example of
what can be
achieved by
regional
residents
prepared to
invest their
time and
energy on
such a
crucial
cause."
The
conference
aims to
provide
Friends of
the
Foundation
groups with
an
opportunity
to get to
know each
other;
exchange
information
and advice;
discuss
issues of
mutual
interest
and/or
concern; and
meet
Foundation
staff and
board
members.
FoF
group
members who
wish to
attend the
conference
should RSVP
Anne Chirio
by 8 March
on 4226 8993
or email
volunteer@fnqhf.org.au.
Lunch and
refreshments
will be
provided.
The event
will run
from10.30 am
until 3.00
pm.
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Cruisin' for a cause
It will soon be time for
bikers to start revving – and fundraising – for
this year’s Wayne Leonard’s Motorcycle Muster
from Cairns to Undara on 18 and 19 May!
As usual, the 2013 Muster will
allow riders to combine their passion for biking
with the opportunity to help the Foundation
achieve important health care goals for
residents in Far North Queensland.
This year’s riders will be
cruising for a children’s cause – to raise money
for the Foundation’s Paediatric Playground
Project, which aims to build a special
playground for young patients in the Paediatric
Ward at the Cairns Base Hospital.
Participants will embark upon a
scenic 390 km journey via the rainforest-shaded
curves of the Kuranda Range Road and the lush,
rolling hills of the Tablelands, to Undara,
which boasts the longest and oldest lava tubes
in the world.
Prizes will be awarded to the highest
fundraisers during a special presentation dinner
at the Undara Resort, which offers a range of
accommodation options. Muster participants will
return to Cairns the following day (after a
hearty campfire breakfast).
The registration fee for the event ($60) can be
paid online at
www.motorcyclemuster.com.au. Each biker is
also required to raise at least $300 for the
Foundation.
For further information about Undara, visit
http://undara.com.au.
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Pictures
speak louder than words
A special kit
developed to help children identify
their emotions is now being used by
mental health workers to assist
troubled youngsters living in remote
Indigenous communities in the Cape
York region.
Child and Youth Team
workers within the Rural & Remote
Area Mental Health Service recently
obtained nine Safe from the Start
kits, funded through a $5,000 grant
from the Foundation.
"Younger children
don’t have the words to articulate
their feelings," said Cairns-based
team leader, Judy Skalicky.
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Mental Health worker,
Jill Cutler,
uses a puppet to help a
young
client
express her feelings. |
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"These
kits are designed to help
traumatised children express what
they are experiencing through the
use of visual aids such as hand
puppets with faces that display
different moods, as well as activity
cards, stickers and work books."
The Child and Youth
Team, which includes a child and
youth psychiatrist, three health
workers and six clinicians, cares
for more than 150 emotionally
troubled children living in Cape
communities.
Team members visit
the communities on a fortnightly or
monthly basis and liaise closely
with other government and
non-government agencies in the
region, including schools.
"Younger children
often develop behavioural issues as
a way of acting out their distress,"
said Ms Skalicky. "Schools are
ideally placed to detect children
with behavioural problems."
The mental health
workers conduct clinics at local
hospitals or other health care
facilities, but are also willing to
visit patients and their families at
other locations.
"It is vital to work
with both the children and their
families so they can find better
ways to express their emotions and
deal with issues," said Ms Skalicky.
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In the swing
Young patients
with mobility problems will soon be
into the swing of things thanks to
the arrival of a state-of-the-art
sling hoist in the Paediatric Ward
at the Cairns Base Hospital.
The Maxi Move Sling
Hoist, worth more than $11,500, was
purchased by the Foundation,
following a generous donation from
long-term supporters, Anne and
Leslie Mills, of the Mills Family
Foundation.
Paediatric
Ward Senior Physiotherapist, Lauren
Phillips, said the hoist would prove
invaluable when it came to assisting
hospital staff and parents to move
children with physical disabilities
during hospital stays and visits to
outpatient clinics. |
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Paediatric
physiotherapist, Sian
Spencer (centre),
demonstrates the new
sling hoist to
Foundation donors, Anne
and Leslie Mills. |
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"We often care for
older, larger children with
conditions such as cerebral palsy,
muscular dystrophy, spina bifida or
other spinal injuries or diseases
that restrict their ability to move
voluntarily," she said.
"A sling hoist makes
it much easier to safely and
comfortably transfer these children
from wheelchair to bed, bath or
toilet. It can also allow us to
reposition children in bed to
prevent bed sores."
"This equipment is
literally going to take the weight
off our shoulders," she said.
The new hoist can
also weigh patients to assist
medical staff to calculate
medication dosages based on weight.
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Turn on to
tune out
Five to six
hours per day, three days a week, 10
patients undergo the crucial, but
tedious process of renal dialysis at
the Cooktown Hospital, with just one
television to alleviate their
boredom and distract them from their
clinical surroundings – until now.
The Cooktown Friends
of the Foundation sought assistance
from the Foundation, which
successfully applied for a Reef
Hotel Casino Community Benefit Fund
grant on behalf of the FoF, enabling
the group to purchase eight new flat
screen televisions worth $9,590 for
the hospital.
The ceiling-mounted
television system, which includes
new entertainment handsets, will be
integrated into the nurse call
system for patients in the Renal
Unit. |
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Cooktown
Hospital Renal
Unit staff (from
left), Endorsed
Enrolled Nurse,
Debbie Slater,
and Nurse Unit
Manager, Karen
Coad, are
looking forward
to providing
their patients
with individual
TV access. |
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"The new TV system
will allow each patient to select
what they want to watch, while
listening to their TV through
headphones," said Nurse Unit
Manager, Karen Coad.
The Foundation
aims to continue funding similar
projects for rural hospitals in Far
North Queensland.
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Sporty
volunteers – on your mark!
You don’t have
to be an athlete to experience the
excitement and adrenalin of the
Cairns Airport IRONMAN Cairns on 9
June. Just flex your muscles as a
volunteer!
The Far North
Queensland Hospital Foundation is
looking for volunteers to help
athletes participating in the event,
which attracts hundreds of
competitors from interstate and
overseas. |
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The
triathlon features a 3.8 km swim,
180 km bike leg and a 42.2 km run.
This year, Foundation
volunteers will be stationed at
Smithfield to assist athletes who
have just completed the gruelling
bicycle stage and are about to
embark on the run.
The Foundation is
also keen to recruit motorcyclists
prepared to transport film-makers
and photographers along the
triathlon road routes, so they can
capture the competitors on film!
If that sounds too
strenuous, you may prefer to help
prepare breakfast for participants
in the Fun Run on 7 June, which will
also need volunteers to provide road
directions to the public.
For further
information, contact Anne Chirio on
4226 8993 or email
anne.chirio@fnqhf.org.au
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Where to find us:
Ground Floor
Block E
Cairns Base Hospital Car Park
Cnr Grove & Digger Streets
Cairns QLD 4870
Where to mail us:
PO Box 957
Cairns QLD 4870 |
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