Growing up, Debbie Stach had always sought to help people. So, when she graduated from Monash University with a medical degree, it seemed like the beginning of a wonderful career, caring for others.
Debbie’s parents, Peter and Sylvia, smiled as they recalled their daughter’s strong will and determination to follow her own path in life.
“Whether it was bringing extra supplies for school friends going through tough times or tutoring her fellow high school students who were falling behind, Debbie always wanted to help people,” Sylvia said.
“After Year 12, she travelled to Israel for 12 months, volunteering as an orderly at a hospital for three or four months and teaching English to Ethiopian migrants,” she added.
Sadly, Debbie’s dream was tragically cut short when she died in a car accident in February 2004, soon after completing her GP training with the Northern Territory General Practice Education.
While Peter and Sylvia were heartbroken, they were also driven to continue Debbie’s legacy of helping others and with overwhelming support from family and Debbie’s friends, the couple established the Debbie Stach Memorial Fund in June 2004.
The fund aimed to continue Debbie’s beliefs and support initiatives in areas she was passionate about – environmental issues, artistic and cultural pursuits, and Aboriginal health.
During this time, Peter and Sylvia’s good friend, Barry Novy OAM – former Chair of the RCH Foundation Board and current Chair of the RCH1000 Committee – mentioned that the RCH was planning a new health service for Indigenous children and their families.
Peter and Sylvia immediately knew Debbie would have loved it.
“During her medical studies, Debbie volunteered for the Fred Hollows Foundation in Nepal, and she was so excited to finish her medical training working with Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory,” Peter explained.
Peter and Sylvia met with the RCH Foundation and decided to fund two research roles. The researchers, supported by the couple, sparked what is now the Wadja Aboriginal Family Place, or simply Wadja.
Established in 2009, Wadja supports Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander patients across the hospital through both the Wadja Health Clinic and dedicated Case Managers who support inpatients. The Wadja Health Clinic is a general paediatric health clinic offering a weekly general medical outpatient service for Aboriginal patients presenting with complex medical and social issues.
The service is delivered by a multidisciplinary team consisting of Aboriginal case managers, paediatricians, mental health clinicians and allied health professionals.
The Stach family’s impact on the hospital hasn’t stopped there. Through the fund, Peter and Sylvia have been able to support other departments and initiatives, including the RCH Psychology Unit, bioethics conferences, a book titled ‘This Is My Mob’, and the RCH150 Aboriginal Art Project.
Today, 20 years on from establishment of the Debbie Stach Memorial Fund, Peter and Sylvia have decided to gift the remainder of the fund to the RCH Foundation to establish an in-perpetuity endowment in Debbie’s name.
Their generous gift will be directed towards three key areas that Debbie was so passionate about – education, regional care, and Indigenous health – with annual distributions from the endowment ensuring that services like Wadja can continue to provide much-needed care for Indigenous children and their families for years to come.
For Peter and Sylvia, the establishment of this endowment is the perfect way to make sure that Debbie’s name and compassion will live on.
“Debbie would have been so impressed by Wadja, and so chuffed that her name is leant to supporting the work they do,” Peter said.
“As I said at the opening of Wadja – out of a tragedy, a little good has come. Giving is good, if you can, and the children are the future,” he added.