A new community trust fund has been established to support clinical education for Dunstan Hospital and community staff at Central Otago Health Services Ltd (COHSL).

The Rural Health Education Fund will support staff to attend training and post-graduate courses nationally and internationally to keep abreast of clinical advances and contemporary practice.

Dunstan Hospital CEO Dr Kathy de Luc said community support has been fundamental in maintaining service provision and expanding offerings over the years for COHSL. 

“As a community-owned hospital and health services provider, community support has always been key in enabling delivery of services. We see this in quite significant investments, such as our CT scanner, but also in a variety of equally important ways, such as volunteering of time and fundraising for equipment,” she said.

The education fund will help COHSL support staff to gain skills and experiences that ultimately can be provided back to our communities, she said.

Kathy thanked fund founders Tim and Marilyn Fleming for their generosity.

Donations to the fund can be made by contacting [email protected].

While the Tim and Marilyn Education Fund is for staff education, people can also support the Friends of Dunstan Charitable Trust, a community-based charity dedicated to supporting purchases of equipment for Dunstan Hospital, Kathy said, as well as donating to the Palliative Care Trust which supports end of life needs.

PHOTO: Supplied