Cabrini Foundation - Healing & Hope - Vol 1 - 2024

HEALING HOPE &

INSIDE:

This year you can Magnify your Impact as together we provide the most advanced care for Cabrini patients.

Share our community's stories of connection and gifts in gratitude for care received at Cabrini.

We sincerely thank those supporters who took the time to respond to our recent survey. We value the opportunity to learn more about you, what is important to you, your connection to Cabrini and what areas and programs you are most interested in.

It meant so much to us to hear your feedback and suggestions, enriched with many heart-warming stories of connection and gratitude for care received at Cabrini.

As can be expected, the majority of our donors have experienced Cabrini either as a patient or family of a patient – everyone’s support and donations to the Foundation, large and small, help ensure that Cabrini continues to deliver the highest quality, compassionate care, with a growing commitment to research and innovation.

With the coming change of season, I thank you for your enduring support and hope you stay warm and well. I encourage you to continue to share your stories of connection to Cabrini – the Foundation office is open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm, located on the Ground floor of the Gandel Wing at Cabrini Malvern. Please drop in for a tea or coffee any time.

Megan Potter

Warmest regards Megan and the Foundation team

COVER IMAGE: Dr. Myron Rogers, a neurosurgeon at Cabrini Hospital performs surgery three times a week, operating on both the spine and brain. Read more about his work and the need to raise funds for a new robotic microscope on pages 4-5.

Megan Potter Director, Cabrini Foundation

PETER MEESE MemorialFund

The Peter Meese Memorial Fund supports cancer nursing education and research at Cabrini.

Peter Meese was a respected and highly regarded medical practitioner. In 1999 he was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer. During the 12 months of his illness, Peter was a frequent patient of Cabrini’s oncology ward, day oncology centre and Prahran palliative care centre.

Following Peter’s passing, his partner Dr Darren Lockie established cancer nursing research and study travel grants and the annual Peter Meese Memorial Lecture to show his gratitude to Cabrini nursing staff for their compassionate care during the time of Peter’s illness.

Ethicist Dr Ranjana Srivastava OAM connected with Cabrini’s mission and values when she spoke on Compassion in Medicine as the 2024 Peter Meese Memorial Lecture speaker in March. This year’s recipient of the Peter Meese Memorial Travel Scholarship is Aian “Jay” Gopez, a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Oncology Infusion Centre at Cabrini Malvern. Jay embodies his dedication to compassion in medicine and gratitude for the opportunity to grow his skills every day. “As an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist my aim is to continue to improve the quality of care and service we offer patients. By attending conferences, it helps to gain knowledge that improve our services and competencies,” said Jay.

When Dr Lockie reflects on the quality of care at Cabrini, he captures the special role nurses play in patients’ lives: “Cabrini nurses translate compassionate care into reality. It was an experience with lasting legacy that still drives my professional desire to deliver focused personal care every day of my working life,” he shared.

Thank you Darren, together with all generous supporters, for your commitment to the Peter Meese Memorial Scholarship. With your help, Cabrini is able to retain the best staff and empower them to continue their professional development, to the benefit of our patients and community.

Supporting the Peter Meese Memorial Fund

By giving a gift toward the Peter Meese Memorial Fund, you offer Cabrini nursing staff the opportunity to further their professional development in the fields of oncology nursing education and research.

Contributions to the Peter Meese Memorial Fund can be made via the Cabrini Foundation.

Call (03) 9508 1380 or please visit cabrinifoundation.com.au and dedicate your donation in memory of Peter Meese.

Aian Jay Gopez

Dr Darren Lockie, pictured with Dr Ranjana Srivastava OAM.

LIFESAVING

INNOVATIO

MAGNIFY YOUR IMPACT

Right now, we’re fundraising for a brand new Zeiss Kenivo 900 robotic microscope – a critical piece of surgical equipment that allows us to perform surgeries with greater accuracy and precision.

We have two microscopes that are used daily by our neurosurgeons. One is around eight years old and still functioning. But the other is coming to the end of its life after 15 years of service.

The second microscope urgently needs to be upgraded. The technology is outdated and spare parts are no longer manufactured.

Relying on one microscope is risky, especially during intricate procedures where failure is not an option.

That’s why we urgently need to raise $800,000 for the Zeiss Kenivo 900 robotic microscope.

And while some pieces of equipment can cost millions of dollars and might only be used a handful of times, this is something that will be used every single day, multiple times a day. It will have an enormous impact on a very large number of patients.

Dr. Myron Rogers, a neurosurgeon at Cabrini Hospital performs surgery three times a week, operating on both the spine and brain. This microscope is used every single time.

“The microscope will be an essential tool during surgery because it offers me better illumination, magnification and precision. And that’s critical when there is little margin for error,” he says.

“Back when I was training 35 years ago, microscopes were just being introduced. We performed intricate surgeries with headlights for illumination and glasses for magnification. Thankfully, technology has come a long way.”

Scan this QR code to watch Dr. Myron and Matthew’s interview

“We can’t do any surgery without the robotic microscope. It’s the accepted standard of care and essential to do our jobs with accuracy and precision.”

The German-made Zeiss Kenivo 900 robotic microscope is a powerful tool with many key benefits:

1. Enhanced visualisation

High resolution 3D views allow for clarity and precision during the most intricate of procedures, such as brain surgery.

2. Extensive functionality

Plasma screens allow theatre nurses to monitor the procedure in real-time so they can anticipate the surgeon's needs and prepare the required instruments promptly. It also ensures participants can observe the surgery as it unfolds for transparency and enhanced teaching opportunities.

3. Minimally invasive

Image guidance technology allows for smaller incisions with less trauma to surrounding tissues and improved patient outcomes. For example, instead of taking out a big piece of skull to find a tumour, we can cut a piece of bone the size of a 20 cent piece.

This new robotic microscope is vital for all 1,400 neurological surgeries planned for this year.

If we can raise the $800,000 needed for a new robotic microscope before June 30, we could have it in our surgical suite within six months. But this can’t happen without the exceptional generosity of our community.

Please, if you can, support our appeal for this cutting-edge robotic visualisation system, so that we can magnify our impact on our community’s health and wellbeing. And remember, all administration costs are covered by Cabrini operations so you can rest assured that 100% of your donation will go to this robotic microscope.

Scan this QR code or go to www.cabrinifoundation.

Therapies TO HEAL THE SOUL

From Our Hearts to Yours: Thank You

Dear Friends and Supporters,

On behalf of the clients and staff at the Lisa Thurin Women's Health Centre, thank you for your donations for our new Creative Therapies Programs and Sensory Garden. The garden is a special haven and music and art therapies provide a gateway to women’s souls, where healing begins. Together they play an important part of our holistic approach to improving the mental health of women in our care.

Your support goes beyond the physical beauty of the garden. This Sensory Garden provides a safe, healing environment where our clients can gather strength and find comfort in nature. Through music and sound you restore our clients’ sense of self; through the tactile world of clay and charcoal you heal their trauma. Every moment carries the spirit of your kindness.

Your generosity is providing emotional and physical benefits, through evidence-based reflective practice and mindfulness; it's planting seeds of hope and healing in hearts.

Sharon Sherwood Chief of Mental Health & Cabrini Outreach

Music and art therapy programs are now thriving at the Centre, thanks to the generous support of the Judith Matear & Family Fund and several other donor families.

A trained music therapist incorporates psychotherapy techniques with music and sound to assist clients develop self-expression and build confidence.

The art therapy program builds on anxiety reduction therapies and trauma-informed principles. Art therapy involves working with clay, paper, paints, charcoal, pencil, photography, timber and mosaics. Recently, renowned Melbourne artist, Rick Matear conducted very well-received art therapy sessions at the Centre, guiding expression and healing.

The garden was generously funded by Cabrini Foundation donors.

Artist Rick Matear conducts art therapy sessions at the Lisa Thurin Women’s Health Centre.

A life well lived

KEN AND MARGARET'S STORY

When Ken Grenda AM reflects on a life well lived, the jewel is always the six decades he shared with his late wife Margaret.

Together, Ken and Margaret raised five children and built family-owned Grenda Corporation into a highly successful bus company and a legacy for future generations.

A passionate, life-long Tigers supporter, Ken is the sixth Patron of Richmond Football Club, who became renown as ‘Australia’s best boss’, ensuring a surprise bonus for his loyal staff when the business was eventually sold.

Ken’s values of integrity and appreciation of others are unwavering; the impact of his generous gifts in gratitude for the compassionate care he and Margaret received over many years at Cabrini are enduring.

Margaret suffered from recurring pneumonia for many years, regularly cared for at Cabrini. Ken recalls the time Marg was an inpatient at Cabrini Malvern, while Ken was under the care of Cabrini’s Dr Myron Rogers treating his neuropathy. “I parked the car to visit Marg, wondered up the passage, got to her bedside and had a stroke,” Ken shares. Everyone at Cabrini lept into action - he was lucky: had it been two hours later, he wouldn’t have made it. “I lost my ability to speak and all memory, but they worked on me pretty hard, using the book I wrote about my bus business to fully return my memory,” Ken shares.

In 2020, the Grenda family experienced the allencompassing compassionate care of the team at Cabrini for both Ken and Marg, at a heartwrenching time. Devastatingly, Margaret could be supported only as Palliative Care.

“The nurses who took care of Marg were amazing – I recall the tender eyes of one nurse in particular,” Ken remembers.

Marg died within six days. In her last 24 hours the family were allowed to visit at any time, day or night, to spend time with Marg during her final hours, including their beloved golden retriever. At her final moment, Ken was rushed to her in a wheelchair, by their daughter in-law. He held her hand, gave her a kiss, told her he loved her and that was it, she was gone, surrounded by her loved ones.

The Grenda family continue to express their profound gratitude to all the caring Cabrini staff, generously supporting equipment, nursing education and research at Cabrini. Margaret’s life is honoured with a plaque on a ‘bus’ bench on Level 3 of the Gandel Wing, Cabrini Malvern, where family and carers can reflect while loved ones are cared for.

Thank you Ken and family, Marg is forever in our hearts.

Ken Grenda AM at home, February 2024

Thank you Ken and family, Marg is forever in our hearts.

Vale Margaret Grenda, 1927 – 2020

2024 Survey

Thank you for sharing your feedback and experiences in our recent supporter survey. Your opinions and insights help shape how we support your giving, so Cabrini can continue to deliver the highest quality, compassionate care. We hope you enjoy a few of the many wonderful words sent in – thank you for helping to shape our shared future.

Nursing staff are "saintly"!!

Keep up the wonderful work you all do. You make a difference.

My husband was a patient at Cabrini and died in June 2022 from Cancer. He had the best care from all the medical staff and nurses and was treated with the utmost respect and dignity. I am forever grateful for that.

Members of my family and many friends are healthy and continually cared for by Cabrini. Our lives would not be possible without your care.

Keep up the professional medical treatment and services you provide to the community in a way that makes each patient feel their particular needs are being met and treated with the most modern equipment available.

The care I have received has been nothing less than compassionate, understanding, thoughtful, knowledgeable and completed with expertise. Staff took the time to explain all the processes and procedures. Your nursing staff are excellent and show they really care and their personal patience under all experiences is just amazing. Congratulations.

Your volunteers do a wonderful job, welcoming and helpful!

Thank you for being such a friendly and passionate team. I put my trust in Cabrini to assist with our health and care.

There's still time to complete our survey, use this QR code or go to www.cabrinifoundation.com.au

Thank you

FOR HELPING KINDNESS GROW

Thank you for your generous support of medical research at Cabrini.

Thanks to thoughtful donors such as yourself, we have raised $155,000 to boost the innovative medical research carried out at Cabrini including clinical trials, genomics and cardiac research, orthopaedics, mental health and more. Thank you for your commitment to improving health outcomes for patients now and in the future.

"The great thing about Cabrini is all our researchers are committed to improving patients' lives for the better."

-

Professor Gary Richardson OAM, Group Director of Cabrini Research

June & Neville Smith

HYBRID THEATRE OPENS

The newly upgraded June & Neville Smith Hybrid Theatre was re-opened in March with the first procedures conducted by Vascular Surgeon, Dr Charles Milne.

Kerry Bateman, Nurse Director of Perioperative Services, says the upgraded theatre demonstrates Cabrini's commitment to providing exceptional care using the latest technology.

"Our first procedures in the new Hybrid Theatre included angiograms, arterial stents and complex vein procedures. The theatre is often fully booked with many specialist doctors excited to use the latest technology," she said.

A special thank you to June and Neville Smith and the broader donor community for funding the upgrade of the Hybrid Theatre.

Dr Dilys Leung working on innovative medical research.

A life of service TO THE COMMUNITY

As Cabrini Foundation donor Rita Andre reflects on celebrating her 100th birthday earlier this year, the rewards of 80 years of giving back to the community continue their ripple of fulfilment.

A proud volunteer for the Red Cross, Rita dedicated her life to driving children to the Royal Children's Hospital and provided Red Cross patient transport with her sister Dora O’Sullevan; together they devoted countless hours of meaningful service to the community.

When Rita shares the legacy of the O'Sullevan sisters helping other people, she humbly includes their generous philanthropic activities. Rita’s connection to Cabrini goes back to its earliest days: as one of Cabrini’s first patients, Rita recalls having her tonsils removed in 1949 and eating ice cream with the Cabrini Sisters. A generous Cabrini Foundation supporter, she is committed to ensuring Cabrini can continue to deliver the highest standard of care with the latest equipment and technology.

Thank you Rita for your lifetime of devotion to helping the community and being part of the Cabrini family.

Dora O'Sullevan (left) & Rita 1944.

Rita Andre today.

Rita O'Sullevan (driver) on insulin rounds 1954.

Drivers break for lunch, Rita far right.

Cabrini

SOCIETY

In May we launched our new Cabrini Society, a society for generous supporters who have informed us they have included a gift to Cabrini in their Will. Gifts in Wills of all sizes provide vital support that allows Cabrini to provide the very best healthcare, now and into the future.

Cabrini Health Chief Executive, Sue Williams said “The establishment of the Cabrini Society recognises how much we truly value those people who have included a gift in their Will to Cabrini. Bequest gifts help us plan for the future and ensure that Cabrini can continue to provide the very best in compassionate care for our patients now and into the future. Supporters who make these extraordinary gifts give heart to everything we do. The Cabrini Society gives us an opportunity to personally thank these supporters during their lifetime for the legacy that they are leaving.”

Cabrini Society members receive a new Cabrini Society pin, exclusive updates and invitations to events including the annual Cabrini Society event

and the end-of-year luncheon. These events are hosted by our Chief Executive and Chairman to thank supporters for their commitment to the Cabrini mission.

In addition, Cabrini Society members have the option to have their name listed on honour boards on display at Cabrini Malvern to acknowledge and thank them for their support during their lifetime and into the future. However, we respect Cabrini Society members' privacy if they would prefer to remain anonymous.

If you have left a gift in your Will to Cabrini and would like to become a Cabrini Society member, please contact Sally Cane, Associate Director Philanthropy on 03 9508 1906 or by emailing scane@cabrini.com.au

Further information on how to leave a gift in your Will to Cabrini can be found on our website cabrinifoundation.com.au/gifts-in-wills or for a confidential discussion please contact Sally Cane on 03 9508 1906

2024 CABRINI

CommunityGolf Day

We sincerely thank the following supporters of the 2024 Cabrini Community Golf Day

GOLD PARTNERS

PARTNERS

Thank you to the partners who provided fabulous raffle prizes: Catholic Development Fund I GOLFSelect I Hesta I House Metropolitan Golf Club I Yarrawood Estate.

SILVER