A New Trust has been established to support clinical education of nurses and allied personnel of Dunstan Hospital/Central Otago Health Services Ltd (COHSL). 

The Rural Health Education Fund, established by Tim and Marilyn Fleming, has been set up to support the education of the health professionals of COHSL/Dunstan Hospital to attend training and post-graduate courses nationally and internationally. 

The goal being to keep staff abreast of cutting edge clinical advances and contemporary practice while keeping their jobs and roles based in Central Otago. 

Tim Fleming says he and his wife Marilyn decided to provide the seed funding for the Rural Health Education Fund to support nurses and Allied Health staff in a similar way doctors are. 

“Doctors here are well looked after to go to medical conferences and get plenty of opportunities for post-grad study,” Tim explains. 

“But nurses and Allied Health personnel don’t get that same level of opportunity, so we wanted to support that. 

“Part of it is that my mother and my sister were nurses, and I’m a physician. 

“The staff are exposed to a lot, whether it is the stresses included in the job, or infectious diseases… so it would be good if they could have that time off to develop and have any opportunities they need.”

Tim and Marilyn say they are now looking to grow the fund and seek any philanthropists and donors who may be interested in supporting the fund.

“These staff members need support,” Tim says. “We have established it now, and our goal is to get the fund up to around $250,000. 

“We are looking for more people in Central Otago who want to be involved and donate.

“These staff are often the people patients remember most about their hospital stay, so we want to invest in them.”

The CEO of Dunstan Hospital, Dr Kathy de Luc, explains that community support has been fundamental in maintaining service provision and expanding offerings over the years for COHSL. 

“As a community-owned hospital and health services provider, community support has always been key in enabling delivery of services. 

“We see this in quite significant investments, such as our CT scanner, but also in a variety of equally important ways, such as volunteering of time and fundraising for equipment”. 

“This Education Fund helps us support our staff to gain skills and experiences that ultimately can be provided back to our communities. 

“The establishment of the Fund is very exciting and we wish to extend our sincere thanks to Tim and Marilyn Fleming for their generosity in establishing the Trust and their work in this space. 

“We also would like to thank Central Otago Health Incorporated (COHInc) and our doctors at Dunstan for contributing to the fund.” 

If people are interested in donating and supporting COHSL’s teams and services, there are several different avenues. 

The Tim and Marilyn Education Fund is for staff education, but there is also the Friends of Dunstan Charitable Trust, which is a community-based charity dedicated to supporting purchases of equipment for Dunstan Hospital. 

You can also donate to COHInc directly and to their Palliative Care Trust which supports end of life needs; and people can also support COHSL/Dunstan Hospital directly by making donations directly to the hospital. 

“The appreciation for our community support from the team here at COHSL cannot be overstated, and we recognise that we are privileged to be so actively supported by our communities, friends and families,” Kathy says. 

If you wish to make a donation, it can be made by direct deposit from your bank to the trust account: Tim And Marilyn Education Trust #03-1369-047-2037-00.

Advertisement