Message from the Chairman

I would like to start by thanking everyone who gave so generously to the Autumn Appeal. I am delighted to report that we purchased much-needed sleep apnoea machines for the Mercy Hospital for Women Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Your generous and ongoing support means that Mercy Hospital for Women and Werribee Mercy Hospital can continue to provide high-quality care for those in need.

As we approach the middle of the year I hope that you are all adjusting to the ‘new normal’.

I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to reconnect with friends and family I had been separated from throughout the pandemic. Simple pleasures such as a coffee in the city or seeing a film at the cinema have brought back so much joy over the past few months. We are pleased to be hosting a cocktail function and Indigenous art auction on Friday 17 June to raise funds to support the life-saving research being conducted by Mercy Perinatal — I look forward to seeing many of you there for our first in-person event of the year. For more details on this event please reach out to the Mercy Health Foundation team.

We have recently launched our Tax Appeal, which you may have seen in your mailboxes and inboxes recently. This year we are raising funds to support Mercy Perinatal’s life-saving research and their latest groundbreaking trials to find a treatment for preeclampsia. You can read more about their incredible work, and how you can support the team, on the next page.

Also in this edition, you will find an article about the generous donation of recliner chairs to the NICU by two very grateful families whose babies were cared for in the NICU. We also provide an insight into Mercy Health’s heritage and how a gift left in a Will allowed Catherine McAuley to found the Order of the Sisters of Mercy. Finally, if you are looking to support Mercy Health in other ways, you can view our upcoming fundraising events on the back page.

On behalf of the entire Mercy Health Foundation team, please enjoy this issue of the Mercy Health Foundation newsletter and stay safe and well.

Best wishes

Mr Julien O’Connell AO

Chairman
Mercy Health Foundation