fernlea house turns 10

It was wonderful to gather with friends at Fernlea House - and the occasion? Their 10 year celebration.

Here I am pictured with the driving force behind Fernlea House, Jan Lancaster. It's Jan's passion and vision that's seen Fernlea House become a reality. Along with a dedicated volunteer base and committed staff, Fernlea fills an important need for those providing care for and those with a life limiting illness.

It's been a challenging journey for Fernlea House over the years. Because the house is dedicated to providing a social model of palliative care, it doesn't fit the usual criteria for funding.

Many a time in their history they've been near closure but have always managed a last minute reprieve.

There's no better way to celebrate a birthday than with cake, staff joined with committee members past and present to cut the cake.

As part of the 10 year celebration Fernlea House are coordinating Living, Laughing, Loving - an address book to celebrate their landmark anniversary.

To promote the work of Fernlea House, and as a fundraising venture, Living, Laughing, Loving is being developed. It will include the history of Fernlea and the stories of the people who have been part of this amazing first 10 year journey.

Living, Laughing, Loving will sell for $35 and it's hoped it will be ready for Christmas. You can also contribute to Living, Laughing, Loving by advance ordering or purchasing a page where you can provide a paragraph, photo and quotation about yourself or a loved one or what Fernlea House means to you.

If you'd like to know more about Living, Laughing, Loving click here.

fernlea funded for now

Fernlea house held its open day today and what a buoyant occasion it was. After the announcement of funding to provide respite care last week (see blog) the Committee, staff and volunteers couldn't be happier.

Pictured left to right: Gerald Overton - committee member, Samantha Dunn - Lyster Ward Councillor, Shire of Yarra Ranges, Ann Davis - President, Peter Markes - Chairman, Upwey and District Bendigo Bank Helen Pike - Fernlea's manager, and Jan Lancaster - past President, it was Jan's vision that saw Fernlea House become a reality.

The funding will enable the house to provide 4 days a week on site respite care and 5 days a week in home services. The funding will mean the house will need to extend to ensure it has adequate space to provide even more services to our community.
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It was a great day to celebrate, the committee has done a great job advocating on behalf of the house and I congratulate them on their efforts. The big challenge now will be to raise the funds to build the extension, but there is much support for the house and I'm sure they will be successful.

fernlea funded

stop press stop press stop press

At tonight's community cabinet in Emerald I learnt that Fernlea House had received an eleventh hour reprieve (again!) with funding of up to $479,000 per year for the next two years from the federal government.

My congratulations to all who were involved in the campaign to save Fernlea, it is a valuable palliative care service, providing a caring environment for those with life limiting illnesses. It is terrific news to know that Fernlea can continue to provide a service that is so precious in our local community.

For a campaign history visit:
fernlea fearful - 9 May 2009
yarra ranges minutes (page 11) - 24 March 2009
fernlea’s future in question - 4 October 2008
forests, arts, palliative care, scouts - a busy weekend out and about - 25 May 2008

fernlea’s future in question

I was invited to attend an emergency meeting of Fernlea House with their committee to discuss Fernlea’s ongoing future. Readers may recall that Fernlea House had their funding withdrawn from the Federal Government earlier this year and had to close in a six week time frame. After one of their volunteers called 3AW and the issue gained significant media attention the federal government did a quick turnaround and Fernlea got a reprieve, but only till the end of this financial year.

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Pictured left to right: Ann Davis - President Fernlea House, Helen Pike - Nurse/Manager Fernlea House, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell and me.
Ann and Helen play an instrumental role at Fernlea House, their passion and drive for what they do is inspiring.

Fernlea House offers a very special palliative care service for our community. It is not a clinical model of service but a social respite model that cares for people diagnosed with a life limiting illness. Since opening in 2005, their service has flourished and offers social respite as a free service for up to six guests a day, three days a week. They also offer bereavement support, home visits, assisted memoir writing, community education and extensive training programs for volunteers.

What I find significant about Fernlea is their dedicated pool of volunteers, numbering in excess of fifty at any given point in time.


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Because Fernlea House provide social respite and aren’t connected to a large health service to provide in-patient clinical palliative care the Victorian Department of Human Services have advised them that it is not a priority to fund day hospices. I think this is a travesty for those in our community who visit Fernlea House.

One of the stand out things for me about Fernlea is its ability to make guests comfortable and at ease, many guests enjoy a meal together and will happily eat, a rare experience for those with a life limiting illness.

I have no doubt that Fernlea House fills a critical need in our community for those with life limiting illness and I will continue to be a strong advocate for Fernlea House and the social respite model they practice.