By Denise Sharon Cahill, Western Suburbs Weekly
THE Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation will use its record share from last year’s Woolworths Fresh Food Kids Hospital Appeal to continue funding an important anaesthetic role at PMH.
WA shoppers and suppliers helped raise a record $1.26 million last year that will be shared between the Foundation, Children’s Leukaemia and Cancer Research Foundation and the Telethon Adventurers.
The appeal, which raises money via events and donation tins, has secured the immediate future of Paediatric Anaesthesia chairwoman Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg, a Swiss-born professor who was appointed in 2010.
Foundation chief executive Denys Pearce said the appeal would continue to make a big difference to PMH in the next five years.
“Her role is crucial because it is focused on improving anaesthetic standards and researching the prevention of life-threatening respiratory complications in children,” Mr Pearce said.
“We are hoping to establish more professional chairs of expertise, like Britta, who will help us stay at the forefront of advances in children’s medicine.”
Woolworths employee of 35 years Peter Ingram knows first- hand how important PMH and the Foundation are for the children of WA.
The HR specialist’s teenage son Bradley (now 17) was diagnosed with a rare muscular cancer in May 2010 and had six months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment at PMH.
Mr Ingram said his son’s initial oncologist sent him to PMH because the cancer was so rare and after receiving a 12-month all-clear diagnosis, the oncologist said he was surprised at the positive outcome.
“Woolies has been doing the fundraising for years but it has a lot more meaning to me now,” he said.
“We know what the appeal can do to increase the success rates for kids with cancer.”
The appeal has raised more than $3 million for the Foundation since it started in 2003.