UPDATE: JANUARY 2024
We are thrilled to report that we have now raised the required $100,000, thanks to overwhelming support from the community and some very generous last-minute donations!
This appeal has now closed, and we will get to work on ordering these life-saving devices to be used across the LGH Paediatrics Department.
Christmas Appeal
This festive season, the Clifford Craig Foundation is raising funds to help purchase four new neonatal bedside resuscitation units for the Launceston General Hospital.
Used during labour and delivery procedures, the ‘Resuscitaire’ as it is known provides the critical components needed for clinical emergencies and resuscitation.
It saves lives, just as they begin.
We have set a fundraising target of $100,000 to secure these much-needed pieces of equipment for our local hospital.
Your donation will help ensure every baby born at the LGH is given the best start in life.
“Babies are born at the Launceston General Hospital every single day. In fact, on average we see about four births a day. We always need to have a Resuscitaire on standby, ready for use.
In emergency situations involving newborns, you haven’t got two minutes to go and fetch medical equipment. Resuscitaires need to be available, at every bed, for every mum who is giving birth.
While most babies will transition to extrauterine life beautifully, some need a little bit of help – a bit of extra stimulation.
Resuscitaires are the ideal devices for this. As a free-standing piece of equipment, they provide us with an easily accessible area to view a baby, connect them up to monitoring and measure oxygen levels.
About one in 10 babies will require respiratory support during the first minutes of life and Resuscitaires are equipped with a small face mask and attached to oxygen to help babies regulate their breathing if required.
They are also equipped with a heating light. Babies have a big surface area compared to their weight, so they can lose temperature at a rapid rate. While babies cannot generate their own internal temperature, Resuscitaires assist us in keeping them warm.
A newborn might spend five minutes on a Resuscitaire, or for those born prematurely, it could be five days. They are a critical piece of medical equipment and every mother giving birth at the LGH should have access to these devices.”
The twin boys were born premature at the Launceston General Hospital in October, at 32 weeks.
Their mother Ebony was experiencing preeclampsia and hypertension, and required an emergency caesarean.
The twins benefited from two Resuscitaires – with one required for each baby.
They each remained under the heat light provided by the Resuscitaire for four days after birth.
“I wasn’t able to hold them in my arms until they were a week old,” Ebony said.
“The first time I held them together in my arms ... it was an amazing feeling.”
Ebony said the staff at the LGH had become like a second family.
