THE Wimmera Health Care Group has recognised four people for their outstanding and ongoing service to health care in the region. Mark Williams, David Leembruggen, Denise Leembruggen and Ted McCabe have all received life governor awards. The Mail-Times will look at the contribution each recipient has made to the community as part of its With Heart series.
FOR ONE former Horsham couple, being involved in the region’s health was the most important thing they could do.
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Denise and David Leembruggen were recognised with Wimmera Health Care Group life governor awards at the group’s annual meeting last week.
Mrs Leembruggen is a former foundation trustee.
She first joined the board of trustees in 2008 and was elected deputy chairwoman in 2010.
She played a pivotal role in raising the profile of the Wimmera Health Care Group Foundation through public fundraising and in 2012, the Friends of the Foundation fundraising group was formed under her guidance.
Mrs Leembruggen also represented the foundation on the Wimmera Cancer Centre project steering committee and also the fundraising committee.
She resigned from the foundation last year when the family moved to Port Fairy.
Dr Leembruggen has been involved in the health care group for more than 35 years.
He was a visiting general practitioner and director of postgraduate education at the hospital for most of that time.
He was also a key participant on the hospital's clinical risk management committee.
He served two terms on the board of management from 1993 to 1996 and again from 1998.
Mrs Leembruggen said it was a privilege to be part of the Wimmera Health Care Group Foundation for so many years.
“I first joined because I wanted to have an opportunity to help others in the community and work towards improving the options available in the region for better health outcomes,” she said.
“I was privileged to work with such a great team of people.”
Mrs Leembruggen said during her eight years she was involved in the foundation, she was able to see it expand and evolve with the community.
Mrs Leembruggen said the most important and rewarding project she was part of was the original push for the Wimmera Cancer Centre.
“It was great to see how the community got behind it and drove the fundraising in order to provide a service that was much needed in the region,” she said.
Mrs Leembruggen said the fundraising arm of the foundation, the Friends of the Foundation, was also a great group to be involved with.
The foundation organises a number of fundraising events, including movie screenings, bus trips and lunches.
“To see the group come up with so many exciting events was fantastic,” Mrs Leembruggen said.
“It was a very dynamic group of individuals all working together.”
When Mrs Leembruggen left the Friends of the Foundation last year, the group had raised $156,547 for health care in the region.
Dr and Mrs Leembruggen said they were extremely honoured to receive Wimmera Health Care Group life governor awards.
Mrs Leembruggen said neither of them did the work they did for the accolades.
“We are very honoured to have had the opportunity to be involved in our community,” she said.
“It was a privilege to be recognised.
“We both got notifications that we would receive the awards and we were taken aback because you never expect these things.
“We are extremely honoured and they are awards that we will both treasure for the rest of our lives.”
Mrs Leembruggen said it was essential that more people got involved with their communities, in anyway they could.
“Health especially is an important part of our community and the cancer centre is something that is very much needed in the region,” she said.
“As former Wimmera Health Care Group Foundation chairman Don Johns used to say – everyone will need to use the service at some point in their lives.
“It’s a project that the whole community needs to get behind because it is so important.”
Earlier this year, the Wimmera Health Care Group Foundation announced it had raised $135,000 for the project.
It had pledged to give $50,000 to the project each year over a five-year period to assist with the construction.
The Wimmera Health Care Group hopes the centre will be completed by the end of next year.
Construction is set to start in early 2018.
Wimmera Health Care Group chief executive Catherine Morley said it was fantastic to recognise people in the community with life governor awards.
She said the awards were given out at the health care group’s annual meeting on Thursday.
“It was awesome to hear about what these people have contributed to our organisation,” she said.
“It was also great to hear about the Wimmera Health Care Group Foundation and the great job they do.
“The life governor awards are a lovely way of understanding the community support we have in the region and recognising the people who have given us their life service.”