John Benger - Southern Region Director
John is a member of the Rotary Club of Richmond and is a Sapphire Paul Harris Fellow. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a Member of the National Institute of Accountants. John is now semi retired after a career that included national and international management roles mainly in high tech companies. His other interests are golf, travel and family.
Regional report
October 2008
Royal Childrens Hospital.
Dr Janice Peeler and I met with the new CEO and she is in favour of having paying international patients but her hands are tied. We were not helped by the lead story on Channel 7 news that night being filmed at RCH and covering the waiting lists.
Kim Nguyen returns on 13th and is going out in a blaze of publicity and fund raising for ROMAC.
Happy Receptions have donated their reception rooms and all the food for a dinner on 12th and it looks like around 350 from the Vietnamese community and Rotary will be in attendance. Kim and surgeon Tony Holmes will speak on patient and I will cover ROMAC. Click here.
Channel 7 and Channel 10 news filmed a clip which was shown on Friday 10th. Tony Holmes, Kim and Mercy Hospital will feature.
Kim and Mum are featured on Vietnamese radio on 9th October.
Other fund raisers.
Apollo music group, who played at our dinner, have arranged a concert to aid ROMAC on 24th October. Click here.
Melbourne Uni Medical Students are arranging a ball and proceeds to ROMAC.
Patients.
Janice is trying to "work around" the fact we will not have paediatric ICU facilities for some time and looking at cases we can handle that do not require PICU. For example Geelong Hospital have agreed to do a burns case. We have a donor willing to meet the cost of a patient so there is added incentive for us to find a suitable one.
Children First.
You may recall Children First brought in co joined twins about eight months ago. The update is that there is a whole series of critical operations and a long rest period between each. Currently there are still brain connections and next operation is to separate these. It is not a ROMAC type case as cost will be around $350.000 but CF have our leading talk back radio person as a patron and via his station they raised $250.000.
Committee.
We have welcomed Prof Sue McDonald and A/Prof Brian Chambers onto our committee and thus bolstering our medical links.
Yes Minister.
Do you recall the one where Sir Humphrey proved that the new hospital building staffed with admin and medical staff was operating brilliantly but would convert to problems if they actually took in patients? I feel a bit like that i.e. we are doing brilliantly because we do not have patients?????
Regards John
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