Photo: Yass Soldiers Club, Yass Hospital Auxiliary members, and Yass Rotarians (Brianna O’Rourke)
The Yass Hospital Auxiliary and Yass Soldiers Club combined forces to donate the funds necessary for a portable ultrasound machine at the Yass District Hospital.
The cost of one ultrasound machine is just in excess of $37,000 with the Soldiers Club donating $15,000 and the Auxiliary donating the difference of about $22,000.
Yass Hospital Auxiliary President Jean Frost said the new ultrasound is currently in use in the Emergency Department.
The addition of the new equipment means if patients need an ultrasound they no longer need to go to Goulburn or Canberra to receive an initial diagnosis Jean said.
ass Soldiers Club President Ross Webster and Yass Hospital Auxiliary President Jean Frost (Brianna O’Rourke)
“Hopefully it cuts out a trip and some travel for patients,” she said. “It will save [patients] a trip. They can get diagnosed here and then be sent to wherever they need to be and hopefully cut out an unnecessary trip in the middle.”
“If they’re unwell to start with, I’m sure they don’t really appreciate an extra trip.”
She said the donated funds probably consist of years of the Auxiliary’s fundraising work through raffles, catering and events.
Yass Soldiers Club President Ross Webster said the club has done quite a bit with Gwen Warmington Lodge and Horton House recently, but they are only too happy to be able to help support the hospital.
Nurse Katrina Gray next to the new portable ultrasound machine
“It’s been a great community organisation over many, many years and the Auxiliary has done a remarkable job raising money for the community,” Ross said.
Ross said the $15,000 grant the club provided is a part of their grants for the local community program.
“We contribute quite a considerable amount of money to the community [through local grants] and it’s our way of handing back their support, especially for what they did during Covid.”
“[The ultrasound machine] will be used for a heap of different scans to reveal whether the patient needs to be moved to another hospital or whether it can be handled here at our hospital,” he said. “Just over overwhelmingly, it’ll be one thing that will be used every day in Yass.”
Yass Hospital Auxiliary and Yass Rotary at the donated pergola and tables and chairs
RN Katrina Gray said staff have been using the new equipment to perform basic bedside ultrasounds to get a basic diagnosis.
“If they are concerned and it shows something, then obviously we transfer them to where they need to go for the care that they need,” she said. It can also be used to find ‘hard to see’ veins for cannulas and is a great handy little tool to have”, Katrina said.
“Some nurses are looking into going and getting an education on being able to use it themselves, so that’d be really good as well.”
The Yass Hospital Auxiliary also donated funds for a pergola in past years, in addition to $2,400 by Yass Rotary for an outdoor table and chairs set to complete the staff and guest outdoor area.
Rotarians Keith and Julie Campbell said the group spent some time looking for something durable and easy to clean.
“It’s really nice to have something here for the staff to be able to come out and for visiting people who don’t really want to hang around in the ward,” Julie said.
Brianna O’Rourke
