The Good Friday Appeal is the single largest fundraiser for the RCH, this year raising over $17.6 million for the hospital.

Below are just some of the exciting initiatives that will be funded thanks to your support of this year’s Appeal:

• Thanks to the Good Friday Appeal, the RCH SIMULATION PROGRAM promotes excellence in patient care by enabling staff to practice high-risk low-frequency events or procedures. By exposing hospital teams to acute, but rare patient events in a safe environment, the program is improving clinical decision making, enhancing communication skills, and furthering great patient and family care in the most critical situations.
• Through Good Friday Appeal support, the RCH is leading the way in care for rural and regional patients with RCH TELEHEALTH. An online video consultation tool, RCH Telehealth improves access to important healthcare services and is and a great way for clinicians to deliver care to patients outside of hospital visits.
• The Good Friday Appeal also supports the RCH AUSTRALIAN CHILD HEALTH POLL. This quarterly, national survey of Australian households shedding new light on the big issues in contemporary child and adolescent health, as told by the Australian public. The poll aims to inform national discourse, health priorities and policy formulation, and stimulate further research into the new and emerging health issues facing Australian children and teenagers, and their communities, today.
• Community support for the Good Friday Appeal has helped the RCH initiate a pilot research study called NUDGING TOWARDS HEALTHIER BMI, which aims to modify obese children’s home environments to encourage healthier outcomes. With the guidance of a paediatrician, families will be encouraged to make small in-home improvements, like smaller plates to counter overeating, to improve weight loss and health. If successful, the pilot study will lead the way for a larger project supporting the effectiveness of small ‘nudges’ in creating lasting BMI reduction.
• Thanks to Good Friday Appeal funding, the RCH will establish its first DIGITAL COMMAND CENTRE, a purpose built dedicated workspace with state of the art audio visual equipment to deliver big data to RCH teams 24/7. By aggregating data including emergency surgery workloads and State-wide intensive care capacity, the Digital Command Centre will unleash the potential data provides to inform decision making to improve efficiency, productivity and timely access to care.