PREMIUM
News

Veteran golfers swing donation to local hospital

author avatar
Cobram Barooga Golf Club Veterans Committee members George McLaughlin and Tony Hardy, committee records keeper Brian Nowell, committee president Greg Boyer, NCN Health chief executive Mark Ashcroft, committee treasurer Michael Burton and NCN Health communications co-ordinator Marissa Daly. Photo by Owen Sinclair

On the lush turf of the 18th hole at Cobram Barooga Golf Club, veteran golfers gathered to hand over a cheque worth more than $6000 to NCN Health delegates.

The Cobram Barooga Golf Club Veterans Committee met with delegates from NCN Health for the handover on Tuesday, October 15.

Now in its 13th year, the committee’s fundraiser will this year go towards acquiring a new piece of medical equipment for use in urgent care and wards, NCN Health chief executive Mark Ashcroft said.

“I’m very pleased to say they’ve been able to help us out in purchasing a vital piece of equipment that we’ll use in our urgent care centre, called a HoverJack,” he said.

A HoverJack Air Patient Lift is a type of mattress consisting of four cells which, when inflated, enables nurses and doctors to safely move a patient from the floor to their bed.

“It’s a piece of equipment we’ve looked to purchase for some time and thanks to the input and contribution of the Community Golf Day, we’ve been able to do that,” Mr Ashcroft said.

Mr Ashcroft emphasised the partnership between NCN Health and the committee’s fundraiser was an important connection between the work NCN Health does daily and the health and wellbeing of the community.

“From an NCN perspective, our relationship with the community is incredibly important to the work we do,” he said.

He expressed gratitude to the committee for its generosity.

“It goes to show how partnerships in communities can work effectively, even if partners aren’t exactly from the same industry,” he said.

“It’s an incredibly important story that two agencies can come together and achieve an outcome for our community that, on our own, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve.”

Cobram Barooga Golf Club Veterans Committee President Greg Boyer explained the funds were raised primarily through raffle ticket sales at a Community Golf Day on October 1.

Mr Boyer said it was a worthy cause for the committee to direct its efforts.

“Our members are supporting it very wholeheartedly, which is great to see,” he said.

Mr Boyer said he would like to thank the local businesses involved, which did a wonderful job in supplying donations and raffle prizes for the fundraiser.

“I’d like to thank everyone who came along on the day, and the people who have helped set the day up,” he said.

The annual fundraiser has now raised at least $76,000 over the past 13 years, all of which has been donated to NCN Health.