By JESSE GRAHAM
HEALESVILLE Hospital campaigners have been pushed closer to their $100,000 fund-raising goal, following a donation from timber workers.
The Victorian Forests Contractor’s Association handed a cheque for $5677 to the Save Healesville Hospital Action Group (SHHAG) on Wednesday 27 November.
The donation came after Friends of Forestry (FoF) and VFCA members donated over $500,000 in machinery and labour to help remove pine trees from along the Yarra Valley Railway (YVR) lines.
Some of the felled trees were sold, with all of the money from the sale going straight to the hospital group.
SHHAG members Kersten Gentle and Peter Carruthers accepted the cheque from FoF president Brett Robins in a ceremony at Healesville railway station.
Ms Gentle praised the forestry workers for their efforts both with YVR and the Healesville Hospital Group and said the funds would go towards a case study for the hospital.
“The fact is the whole community is supportive of the hospital going down the path of a small rural health service – any sort of donations to do our business plan is fantastic,” she said.
The case study would assess the possibility for the Healesville Hospital to become an independent rural hospital and cost around $100,000.
SHHAG have recently received donations of $50,000 from Casey MP Tony Smith and $2000 from Bendigo Bank to accompany the new donation of $5766.
Ms Gentle said the donation was a huge boost for the group and that timber workers and anti-loggers alike should be able to see the value of the gesture.
“This donation isn’t about getting political or about whether forestry is good or whether forestry isn’t – it’s about community people who have recognised it (the hospital) is a really important community issue,” she said.
“Let’s put all politics aside in this case and say congratulations to everyone involved.”
