By JESSE GRAHAM
THE Healesville Hospital campaign has rocketed forward, after a fund-raising goal was smashed and doubled at a packed community event last week.
Around 100 people attended a fund-raiser for the Save Healesville Hospital Action Group (SHHAG) on Wednesday 25 June at White Rabbit Brewery.
The fund-raising event was held to finish the funding for SHHAG’s business case study of the Healesville and District Hospital.
Through a raffle, an auction, entry fees, food and drinks on the night, the group managed to raise over $9000 – smashing the goal of around $4000 that was needed for the case study.
SHHAG Chair, Fiona McAllister, said the event doubled as a party for community and group members, who had campaigned over the last 18 months for services to be maintained and restored to the hospital.
She thanked all of the businesses and community members who had donated items to be raffled or auctioned off, and to the staff at White Rabbit, who had donated their tips in recent weeks to the campaign.
“We are an absolutely incredible community,” Ms McAllister said.
“All you have to do is ask, and everybody puts their hands out.”
The evening was an opportunity for another celebration, with a cake unveiled for SHHAG member and local doctor, Peter Carruther’s birthday.
Ms McAllister said the group’s fight was far from over, and on SHHAG’s hit list were determining the hospital’s future and campaigning for maternity services and emergency service at the hospital.
The business case that SHHAG will run is aimed at determining whether the Healesville Hospital would be better off staying under Eastern Health, or being independently governed.
For the case to go forward, the group needs Eastern Health’s financial data from recent years – while SHHAG said Eastern Health had been co-operative, Health Minister David Davis had to sign off on the release.
However, the business case’s future hit turbulence last week, when the Mr Davis said the government had run its own study – which it has yet to release to the public.
SHHAG immediately criticised Mr Davis’s statement, and Ms McAllister said at the event that the group still had the question unanswered.
“All we’re asking Eastern Health and the Minister for Health is to let us have a business case conducted, so we can answer that question,” Ms McAllister said.
“I think that’s pretty reasonable, when we’re raising the money to do it ourselves – how often does a government get a community that says ‘we want this, and we’re going to raise the money to do it ourselves?’”
Local musician, Ben Mitchell, performed throughout the evening, and helped to run the raffle drawing with the help of SHHAG member and independent Eildon candidate, Bruce Argyle.
Healesville resident, Brett Stanley, used his real estate background to run the group’s auction.
The raffle winners on the evening were: 1st prize Healesville Hydraulics, 2nd prize Rob Keuning, 3rd prize Deb Armstrong,
4th prize Denise Esler, 5th prize Kersten Gentle.
SHHAG will be holding a public meeting regarding the hospital at Healesville’s Memo Hall from 7pm on Wednesday, 16 July.
