The Friends Auxiliaries Division Region 5 Auxiliary groups held their 61st Annual Conference at the Tintinara Football Clubrooms on the 20th June 2022. There was a great attendance with the highlight Guest Speaker Alana who told her personal story of her premature birth at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

This 2021/2022 financial year the Friends Auxiliaries Division contributed the magnificent amount of $102,000.000! This contribution is commendable as the groups continue to navigate the challenges associated with Covid.

Friends Members and Supporters enjoy opportunity to catch up and enjoyed the delicious lunch cooked and served by the wonderful staff from The Palais, Semphore.

Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson pictured with Val Fewster.

Friends of WCH acknowledge the contribution of long serving member Julie Tonkin from the Yorketown Auxiliary group.

Pauline Linke, President Friends of WCH was honoured on 6 June 2022 as a finalist of the Joy Noble Award. The Joy Noble Award is considered the highest honour of volunteering service in South Australia

Friend’s members attending the recently held Region 4 Annual Conference were captivated by a special presentation from Guest Speaker Lisa Werner who spoke about her incredible and moving journey after her son Adam was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

The Friends would like to recognise and thank Tracey and Eddie, owners of the Melville Hotel for the support they are providing to the Yorketown / Warooka and Districts Auxiliaries, Friends of WCH Inc. Every second Friday raffle tickets for a meat tray donated by Warooka Butchers are sold in the pub with all proceeds ($640 to date) donated to the local Auxiliary group.

Approximately 10% of the yearly admissions to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH), Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

“Data collected in NICU for the year 2020 shows 69% of Aboriginal neonates received breastmilk as their first feed, with the number significantly dropping to 36% of infants receiving some breastmilk at discharge. Providing breast pumps to these families within the NICU is seen as a valuable resource that will assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with their journey through NICU and expressing for their babies. Breast milk provides a significantly lower risk of sepsis, necrotising enterocolitis and shows better growth and development of premature neonates, it really does provide the best start for these already vulnerable infants.

The Friends of WCH were pleased to facilitate a recent donation of $85,000 from the Istrian Social Club of SA Incorporated. Club members selected the GE E-8 Ultrasound Scanner for the Women’s and Children’s Hospital Maternal Foetal Medicine (MFM) services.

This is a state of the art modern ultrasound machine and the one used in a vast majority of Tertiary Obstetric MFM Units.

The Friends Port Adelaide Auxiliary once again had a sold-out and extremely successful 25th Anniversary celebration of their High Tea and Fashion Parade with 400 guests attending the Grand Hotel Glenelg on October 30.

Despite a challenging weather forecast, the Open Garden at Heatherby raised $5198 which will be used to purchase three oxygen analysers, four foetal Doplers, and two blood pressure units for the Women’s and Babies’ Division of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.