Royal Women's Hospital Foundation VIC, The

Mission / Objective

The Royal Women's Hospital is Australia's largest specialist hospital dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of women of and newborn babies.

The Women's also has an extensive effort in research and in training community health professionals and health specialists. The Women's program areas include gynaecology, women's cancers, cancer survivorship, maternity, women's and infant's mental health, and newborn services.

The Women's is recognised internationally for strong research and is a leader in the translation of research into clinical practice to improve patient care. The Women's is also one of few hospitals in the world accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a "health promoting hospital," an achievement that reflects the importance we place on producing evidence-based, consumer-friendly health information for all women.

The Women's is constantly seeking to develop and implement treatment innovations that offer superior clinical outcomes to the women of Victoria. For example, we have the only gender-based mental health research centre in Australia, the only MRgFUS system (latest technology used to treat a common but debilitating uterine fibroids) at a public hospital in the southern hemisphere, and the only major research group integrating laboratory, clinical and social research in menopause, particularly early-onset menopause caused by cancer therapy. All of these projects were made possible only through the generosity of our donors.

Services

The Women's offers services across all stages of life. We conduct research and provide care in the areas of

- gynaecology            - obstetrics             - neonatal paediatrics          - in vitro fertilization (IVF)      

- urogynaecology      - oncology (breast, cervical and ovarian cancers)            - mental health.

Beneficiary Group

The Women's is a tertiary hospital, meaning we provide critical care to the women of Victoria, typically in obstetric (maternity/birth), gynaecology and oncology services. We also have one of Australia's leading neonatal and intensive care units for premature and ill babies.

The Women's is also serving the women of Victoria through its advocacy work for women's health and social issues, and through its role as a WHO-accredited "Health (Information) Providing Hospital."

Projects in Progress

We have many projects requiring funding. Two non-research projects requiring donor support are:

1) Research: to improve diagnosis of endometriosis-  $10,060 :  

This world-first study will be a collaboration between the Women’s, Australia’s largest public provider of gynaecological services, and the University of Sydney.

Endometriosis is a major cause of infertility and reduced quality of life of tens of thousands of women in Australia. Symptoms such as pelvic and bowel pain are common in young women but the only way to diagnose this condition is for women have a laparoscopy, a form of keyhole surgery. Diagnostic alternatives to surgery will significantly improve the timeliness and quality of treatment options for young women.

The research aims to determine if key nerve fibres associated with endometriosis and pelvic pain in older women are present in younger women (aged 20 or below) with pelvic pain.

Findings from this study have the potential to enable early diagnosis of endometriosis, to improve clinical management of this common and debilitating condition. 

2) Patient equipment:Breast pumps for Breastfeeding Education and Support Service - $15, 270:

Breastfeeding increases women's opportunity to bond with their baby but for new mothers whose premature or very ill baby is in intensive care, there are significant challenges to breast feeding.

This project aims to support the mothers of infants in our Newborn Intensive and Special Care Unit to provide breast milk for their babies through the development of a breast pump hire program. 

By offering mothers the option to hire breast pumps, this project will provide timely and efficient access to hospital grade electric pumps that meet best practice standards. The hire program reduces financial barriers to breast feeding for mothers.   

CEO

Dale Fisher, Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive: Ms Dale Fisher

Executive Director Clinical Operations: Ms Lisa Dunlop

Medical Advisor: Dr Christine Bessell

Executive Director Contracts and Support Services (& Nursing and Midwifery Advisor): Ms Bobbie Carroll

Chief Finance Officer: Mr Zak Gruevski

Executive Director Human Resources and Information Technology: Mr Chris Gamble

Executive Director Strategy, Planning and Performance: Ms Nicole Tweddle

Corporate Counsel: Ms Karen Cusack

Director Communications and Foundation: Dr Sarah White

Director Research: Professor Jock Findlay 

Board Members

Dr Rhonda Galbally (Chair)

Mr Stewart Leslie (Deputy Chair)

Ms Maria Butera

Ms Aileen Berry

Ms Felicity Pantelidis

Ms Christina Liosis

Dr Nicolas Radford

Mr Paul Slape

Ms Sue Zablud

Number of Employees

2000

Number of Volunteers

80

ABN

70 077 725 261

Year Established

1997

Tax Deductible

Yes

Wills and Bequests

You may wish to leave a gift to the Women's in your will to invest in the health and wellbeing of future generations. The Women's Guardians are those who have pledged a bequest in their will or other such gift to support the future work of the Women's.

Bequests of all types are gratefully received and will be publicly or privately acknowledged by the hospital, according to your wishes. 

 To speak to someone about making a bequest, contact the Foundation on 8345 2954 or email admin.foundation@thewomens.org.au  .

 

General Donations

Help the Women's deliver the best possible health care for the women and newborn babies of Victoria.

Make a donation, big or small - it all helps. You can make a secure online donation via our website  http://www.thewomens.org.au/DonateNow 

Volunteering

The Women's needs volunteers to support our work every day. Volunteers work in the hospital as patient escorts; provide event and administrative support and act as hospital ambassadors. Full training and orientation is provided to all volunteers. People with conversational skills in languages other than English are especially welcome. For more information, you can visit our website http://www.thewomens.org.au/Volunteer  or contact the Foundation on 8345 2954 or via email admin.foundation@thewomens.org.au.             

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