New patrons for Cappagh Hospital Foundation

FORMER Fianna Fail TD, Senator and Government Minister, Mary O’Rourke, and hotelier and TV personality, Francis Brennan, have taken up new roles as Cappagh Hospital Foundation (CHF) patrons.

CHF is the fundraising arm of Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital (CNOH) and the new patrons will support its work in raising vital funds for the hospital.

Speaking following the appointments, John Dennehy, Executive Director of Cappagh Hospital Foundation, spoke about how the hospital depends on the support of volunteers and donors to ensure it provides the best technology, facilities and access to orthopaedic care.

“We are greatly appreciative to Mary and Francis for warmly embracing their new roles as Cappagh Hospital Foundation patrons,

? he said.

“This is a significant step forward in our Foundations’ development, and will increase our visibility and ability to raise the vital funds needed so that Cappagh Hospital can continue to provide the most innovative procedures and advanced orthopaedic care in the country.

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Ms O’Rourke expressed her delight with her new role after the appointments were announced last week.

“Cappagh has a wonderfully historic name and there are very few people in Ireland who do not know of it and who appreciate the work it has done and continues to do,

? she said.

“It is impossible to remain unmoved by patient stories of lives transformed by the hospital; or to ignore what might be possible if its dedicated professionals were provided with the necessary additional funding and the right facilities and equipment to continue with their life changing work.

“It is a great honour to be embarking on this journey as Patron for Cappagh Hospital Foundation. I look forward to our future partnership, and to sharing the wonderful story of Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital in the hope that it will encourage more people to consider Cappagh Hospital Foundation as their preferred charity.

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Mr Brennan, a former patient of Cappagh, said he was proud to be named as a patrol alongside Ms O’Rourke.

“I have seen first-hand how important funding is and what it can provide for orthopaedic patients,

? he added.

“For example, the hospital’s new 3T MRI scanner, the first of its kind in Ireland, is hugely valuable in the identification and staging of bone tumours, skeletal metastatic disease and in the identification of unknown primary tumours.

“But we need the funds to pay for this and for other life-saving equipment and those funds come directly from the public. I’m looking forward to helping Cappagh Hospital Foundation achieve its fundraising targets and in sharing in its vision and mission of improving the lives, health and well-being of all its patients.

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A number of new fundraising initiatives are to be launched shortly to raise funds specifically for hospital infrastructural improvements, including the development a new 10 bay recovery suite for patients immediately after surgery.

There are also plans for the expansion of the hospital’s high dependency unit facility, where patients can be provided with more intensive observation, treatment and nursing care than is possible in a general ward.