A message from The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation
The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation, through its fundraising initiative The Common Good, supports research and patient care projects that help people live healthier for longer. In the 2023/24 financial year, the Foundation distributed a record $7.8 million in funding across The Prince Charles Hospital and Caboolture Hospital – the largest amount provided in a single financial year.
This funding is significant for researchers working to improve outcomes for people facing some of the country’s most urgent health challenges, including heart disease, lung disease, mental health and conditions associated with ageing.
Over the past year, 17 research grant projects were completed, and 63 new grants were awarded. These included:
Highlights of 2024
7 Innovation grants
14 New Investigator grants
3 PhD Scholarships
3 Research Fellowships
4 Emerging Researcher grants
6 Caboolture-Kilcoy-Woodford Health Research grants
12 Equipment grants
The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation was named the 2024 Queensland Gives Philanthropic Foundation of the Year during Queensland Philanthropy Week, recognising its contribution to health advancement and community impact. This award reflects the collective efforts of donors, volunteers, researchers, clinicians and health professionals working together to improve lives.
With a continued focus on supporting life-changing and life-saving research, the Foundation helped to initiate pioneering research aimed at improving silicosis screening, featuring the first use of the PExA (Particles in Exhaled Air) machine from Sweden in an Australian laboratory. The use of this cutting-edge technology could advance the understanding, early detection, and treatment of silicosis.
The Foundation’s Giving Day continues to support tangible improvements at The Prince Charles Hospital, with a focus on expanding the Child Life Therapy program in the Children’s Emergency Department – one of Queensland’s busiest. This expansion will enable more children to receive specialist emotional and developmental support during hospital visits, helping to reduce fear and anxiety for children and their families while increasing clinical efficiencies for staff.
Community support through Giving Day also helped transform The Prince Charles Hospital’s Kids’ Retreat. Now offering a place where kids can just be kids while they’re in the hospital, the freshly renovated space, which opened just in time for Christmas, features a range of items to keep little patients and their siblings entertained, including a colourful bubble tube, dimmable fairy lights, and specially curated books, games, and toys for a variety of ages.
Volunteers continue to be a cornerstone of the Foundation’s impact, supporting both hospital and community-based initiatives. In 2024:
- 115 Charlie’s Angels volunteers at The Prince Charles Hospital and contributed more than 625 hours per week
- 40 volunteers supported patients, visitors, and staff at Caboolture Hospital
- The Foundation expanded its volunteer program into the Kallangur Satellite Health Centre
- Over 2,000 volunteers participated in the annual Ekka Strawberry Sundae program, helping to serve almost 126,000 sundaes.
It’s thanks to the dedication of the Foundation’s amazing community that extraordinary achievements can be realised. From advancing groundbreaking research to supporting critical patient care, these are things that can only happen with the generosity and care of those who want to make a real difference in the lives of others. Those compassionate individuals who are constantly striving to improve health outcomes include not only the donors, corporate supporters and volunteers, but also the researchers, clinicians and Metro North Health staff working hard to care for people now and shape care into the future.
To find out more, visit The Common Good.