Help us fund the urgent priorities for premature and sick babies and children needing life-saving medical care at Mercy Health.
Werribee Mercy Hospital’s Paediatric Department desperately wants to keep families together, so no child is far from home. Mercy Hospital for Women’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit never wants to have to turn away a sick or premature baby.
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The need for paediatric care within the Wyndham community is growing at a rapid rate. Werribee Mercy Hospital (WMH) provides key services to the fastest growing population in Australia. And with a growing, diverse population, comes the increasingly urgent need for expanded paediatric services within the community.
Children as young as little babies, like Tigerlily, up to young adults require an Emergency Department specific to their needs.
Tigerlily’s family was so grateful that she could be treated close to home at the Paediatric Department at WMH. She spent over a week in hospital, which was a difficult and traumatic experience for her parents, Lorraine and Francis.
Tigerlily in hospital
“We became very close to the nurses, doctors and even admin and cleaning staff. We felt part of their family.
“They treated Tigerlily as if she was their daughter. They gave us the best help and support to get our baby over the line. They really listened to us and explained what they were doing and why. That was so important for us to be able to understand how Jye was treating Tigerlily,” Lorraine says.
Senior Paediatrician, Dr Jye Gard, was able to care for Tigerlily and keep her close to home. He is hopeful he can continue to provide the kinds of care that kids might need across the whole spectrum of their childhood.
Unfortunately, not all sick children can be treated at the dedicated Paediatric Department. Children who need special care often must be treated at a hospital far from their family and home.
Tigerlily at home
“We are limited in the types of care we can provide our young patients. We do not have several sub-specialist services like cardiology, lung, diabetes or hormone care,” Dr Gard says.
Tigerlily is evidence of Mercy Health’s care first approach. She is now thriving, growing strong and are healthy.
Please donate to Mercy Health Foundation so that we can enable care for every child at Mercy Health, well into the future.
You can be part of something life-changing. Help us care for the smallest members of your community.
Last reviewed May 21, 2024.