SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2019
ANAM CARA HOUSE GEELONG MEDIA RELEASE
ANAM CARA HOUSE GEELONG WELCOMES FEDERAL LABOR $10M CAPITAL COMMITMENT
NEW FUNDING WILL COMPLETE NEW COMMUNITY HOSPICE FOR GEELONG
Not-for-profit Geelong community hospice organisation, Anam Cara House Geelong, has welcomed a new $10 million capital commitment to the new Anam Cara hospice project from the Shorten Federal Labor Team, the Member for Corio Richard Marles MP and the Labor Candidate for Corangamite, Libby Coker. The commitment of these funds is now set to complete the new hospice facility at Deakin University, Waurn Ponds.
The Shorten Federal Labor Team has committed $10 million to capital investment in the new 20-bed facility that will be home-like and purpose-built to accommodate a range of hospice services and end-of-life palliative respite choices for people with life-limiting illnesses and the people who care for them.
Anam Cara House Geelong acknowledges the unwavering commitment of the Australian Labor Party to support individuals nearing the end of their lives and their families with the highest standards of palliative and end-of-life care, including in community facilities. The new Anam Cara House Geelong facility that will be constructed on land at Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, with the support of Labor through this additional funding, will deliver on this commitment for the Geelong community.
Anam Cara House Geelong Chair, Diana Taylor, recognised the Member for Corio, Richard Marles MP, for his passion and outstanding support of Anam Cara since his election to Office in 2007, and the commitment of Federal Labor, Richard Marles and the Labor Candidate for Corangamite, Libby Coker, for their bi-partisan support at the 2016 Federal Election of a $5m commitment to start the new Anam Cara project.
“Richard Marles, Libby Coker, and the Shorten Federal Labor Team have been committed to Anam Cara House Geelong and our community from the very start of our service provision and this new hospice project. This announcement by the Shorten Federal Labor Team shows incredible faith and support for the work of the hard-working staff, volunteers, project team, and donors at Anam Cara House Geelong. Our community should be able to genuinely make choices about the care they receive as they approach the end of life. Demand for palliative care, particularly day and overnight respite, is steadily increasing and is expected to continue to do so. This new hospice facility is urgently needed so our growing community has access to a fit for purpose end of life care hospice that is affordable and accessible.
“We want to thank the Shorten Federal Labor Team, and in particular the Member for Corio Richard Marles and Labor Candidate for Corangamite Libby Coker, for their commitment of $10 million to get this project completed. We have undertaken a significant amount of work to get to this point, supported by individuals and businesses in the Geelong community. We are overwhelmed and very grateful for Labor’s support which has recognised the need for this service and will enable us to complete the job. Over the life of this new hospice, many thousands of our local community members will continue to benefit from the services provided by Anam Cara House Geelong as Geelong’s only community hospice facility.”
“Anam Cara House Geelong has invested significant resources in the planning and design needed to deliver the facility. As at April 2019, a campaign to raise funds via private pledges and philanthropic trusts has produced a total of $4.5 million pledged, an incredible outcome which demonstrates the strong community support for the project,” Ms Taylor said. Anam Cara House Geelong is a not-for-profit, non-denominational, community hospice currently based in the St Mary’s Presbytery in Myers Street Geelong and provides end-of-life care & overnight respite, day respite, visiting family and carer accommodation, equipment loans program for home-based care and community outreach home visits.
For more information regarding Anam Cara House Geelong please visit: www.achg.org.au
MEDIA CONTACT: Alana Whitten, Communications Manager,
mobile 0402 400 780
