A Sale couple has left a lasting impact on Central Gippsland Health (CGH) that will continue well into the future.
Following her passing, Noelle Maguire gifted a generous financial donation to CGH in her will in the memory of her late husband, Allan. This money has been used to purchase equipment for the operating theatre and emergency department including theatre lights, patient monitoring system, cardiac monitoring unit and defibrillator.
CGH Chief Executive Officer, Mark Dykgraaf, expressed his deep appreciation for the bequest that was recently officially recognised with the installation of a plaque.
“Words cannot express our sincere gratitude for this selfless act with the utmost purest intentions,” he said. “We understood Noelle’s wishes were to be extended beyond bricks and mortar with a direct impact on staff and patients a priority.”
Life-long friend of the Maguires’, Lesia Hanson, was present at the plaque unveiling and said Noelle’s donation would be a lasting reminder of her friend’s caring nature.
From Sale, Lesia and Noelle worked together but it wasn’t until they were both walking home from work one day when they discovered they were practically neighbours. The pair remained close ever since with their friendship spanning 53 years.
“We were like sisters,” Lesia said. “Noel was such a caring person, she volunteered in our community and was the Godmother of my daughter. I still miss her.”
The bequest was testament to Noelle and Allan’s caring nature. Often, people bequest to a health service that has cared for them or a loved one at one stage or another as a way of giving back. But as Lesia explained, Noelle never got sick.
“I think she wanted to gift to CGH in Allan’s name for the simple fact that it’s helping their local health service, and in turn, this helps the community they loved,” Lesia said. “Noel and Allan were the type of people that wanted to help make a difference in the world and this selfless act can certainly impact the lives of others.”
Lesia said her dear friend would be proud to know her bequest is already making a difference.
“A doctor from the hospital came up to me and thanked me,” she explained. “He said the theatre lights had made a big difference to surgeons. That’s all I needed to hear really.”
Photo caption (L-R): Emergency Department Clinical Lead, Dr Rasha Mahmoud, Head of General Medicine, Dr Vittal Jadhav, Executor of the Bequest, Lesia Hanson, Chief Executive Officer, Mark Dykgraaf, Director of Nursing, Mandy Pusmucans, Director Quality and Learning, Kelli Mitchener, Emergency Department Nurse Unit Manager, Siobhan Broekhof, and Director Medical Services, Dr Divyanshu Dua.
ENDS
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