INDUSTRY NEWS
Support for regional hospitals continues
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THE benefits of almonds for heart health are well known - but less well known is the annual Murray to Moyne charity ride , with a team organised by the Almond Board of Australia comprising almond industry members and friends to raise funds for the hospitals in the producing regions . The 520km ride from the Murray River in Mildura to the Moyne River in Port Fairy is undertaken over two days . This year ’ s Almonds for Heart Health team has 20 cyclists and three support crew taking on the challenge of reaching Hamilton on Saturday , April 6 in a relay fashion with the team split into four units of five riders with each group completing four 30km legs and the whole team being welcome to complete the 90km leg , or part thereof , from Hamilton to Port Fairy on the Sunday . The ABA partners with Heartbeat Sunraysia as its charity for the ride and works with their committee , and the regional hospitals in deciding on the equipment to be purchased with the funding from the rides donations . The partnership has provided the Mildura Base Hospital with a paediatric ultrasound probe to assist the accurate insertion of cannulas into the veins of babies and young children in what can otherwise be a traumatic experience for all involved . The latest equipment acquisitions were for the Riverland General Hospital ’ s maternity division to obtain a non-invasive jaundice meter for checking potentially threatening jaundice levels in newborns and also two mobile Sp02 monitors to allow midwives to test oxygen levels and heart rates of the young patients in the hospital and in the community . ABA CEO Tim Jackson and Gavin McMahon , who have both ridden in the M2M , had the honor of presenting the equipment costing $ 10,000 to the hospital in February on behalf of the team and Heartbeat Sunraysia . Shellie Humphries , the Acting Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the Riverland General Hospital , played the major role in identifying the needed equipment that will enable the screening of newborn babies for jaundice , without the need
In A Nutshell - Autumn 2024 Vol 25 Issue 1
ABA ’ s Tim Jackson , Riverland General Hospital ’ s Lisa Koop and Carmel Bernett and Port to Port rider Gavin McMahon at the handover of the donated medical equipment .
for a formal blood test that requires a lancet to the baby ’ s heel which is painful . The meter will identify when jaundice is at a clinically significant level to warrant the formal blood test thereby avoiding unnecessary pain to the baby . The jaundice meter readings are instant and results can avoid delay with the baby ’ s discharge . Major donations to our fundraising efforts have been received from CMV , ABA , Dulux , and Weiss McNair . The supply of vehicles and support crew to accompany the riders by Select Harvests and Sunrise Ag / Grower Services in the past has been most appreciated .
This year ’ s Almonds for Heart Health team groups will be led by ABA Directors Nigel Carey and Peter Cavallaro , and former Director Grant Birrell . Tim Jackson and Gavin McMahon will again be donning their almond design jerseys to promote the almonds for heart health message and raise funds to support key equipment purchases for hospitals in almond growing regions . Those in the almond community wanting to support the Almond Board ’ s M2M riders can do so by going to the Mycause website and make a tax deductable donation to Sunraysia Heartbeat .