Patients to reap the benefits of $2.5M in medical equipment

Patients will reap the benefits of $2.5M in medical equipment, as local philanthropist John Williams and Brighter Lives announced the outcome of the John and Vicki Williams Special Funding Round for medical equipment.

This funding round was made possible thanks to a $2 million dollar donation from prominent North Queensland husband and wife philanthropists John and the late Vicki Williams – the largest single donation in Brighter Lives’ history.

Townsville Hospital and Health Service committed an additional $500,000 to the funding round to support the investment in the community’s health.

Tanya Busoli, CEO of Brighter Lives, said: “Following the generous donation from John and Vicki Williams we asked Townsville Hospital and Health Service staff to identify what new equipment their teams needed to make an even bigger difference to the local community and apply for the funding round."

“A committee narrowed this down to 98 successful applications that met the criteria and that we felt best reflected the goals of the funding round. We were very grateful that the Townsville Hospital and Health Board immediately contributed an additional $500,000 to support this initiative.”

Townsville Hospital and Health Board Chair Tony Mooney said the generosity of John and the late Vicki Williams will have an immeasurable impact on our community.

“Each dollar is a direct investment in the health of our community and will touch many lives.

Part of the money will go towards an individual one-person hyperbaric oxygen unit which gives our clinicians the ability to provide extra cycles of treatment every day,” Mr Mooney said.

Philanthropist John Williams said: “I’m very grateful to the staff across the health service for participating in this funding round and highlighting some of the ways we could make a difference through our donation. I am very happy to see where funds are going, and how we are helping to impact people across North Queensland who will benefit from this equipment.

“We wanted to make sure that funds also supported regional communities so it’s great to see nearly 20 per cent of the funds have been directed outside of Townsville.”

Thank you to John Williams and his late wife, Vicki Williams, for brightening lives in North Queensland in such a generous way. We look forward to sharing stories of the impact this gift has made in coming months.