This year we’re celebrating a major milestone - the 20th anniversary of Wellington Hospitals Foundation.
Founded by Bill Day MNZM on 10 November 2005, as the official charity for the hospitals in the greater Wellington region, we’ve had the privilege of partnering with both dedicated healthcare professionals and our caring community, to make a lasting difference for patients and their families.
Over the past two decades we’ve focused on bridging the gap between what public funding can provide and what exceptional healthcare truly requires. Together, we’ve helped improve the hospital experience for thousands of patients and their families across our region, and beyond.
What does 20 years of care look like?
It looks like a child peacefully asleep in a brand new hospital, built just for them.
It sounds like the steady hum of lifesaving equipment, funded by people just like you who want to make a difference.
It feels like the warmth of a volunteer’s smile when you’ve unexpectedly found yourself in hospital, offering comfort and support when you need it most.
And it also looks like:
- $160 million invested in critical hospital projects, ensuring patients across the region receive the best care possible.
- A new regional children’s hospital - a purpose built paediatric facility for our youngest patients, made possible by the generosity of benefactors Sir Mark Dunajtschik and Dorothy Spotswood and $10 million in community donations.
- A game changing Air Ambulance Flight Simulator, the first of its kind in Australia, helping emergency teams train for high pressure situations, and lifelike medical manikins and hi-fidelity simulators that allow hospital teams to practice complex procedures in a safe, controlled space.
- More than $3 million invested in neonatal intensive care equipment, including flight transport incubators, specialised cooling systems, and the first NICU milkbank in our region, ensuring our tiniest most fragile patients get the best care possible.
- Advanced diagnostic tools like a new MRI scanner and 3D Mammogram, which help doctors diagnose and treat patients faster and with more accuracy.
These projects not only support our healthcare teams today, but they also ensure our hospitals are ready for whatever comes through the doors tomorrow.
Compassion in action.
While we’ve helped bring some truly ground breaking projects to life, it’s often the small things that make the biggest impact. For every state of the art piece of equipment or tech, there are countless other things made possible by our community, including:
- Care packs for patients who find themselves in hospital unexpectedly.
- Welcoming family spaces, designed with art and comfort in mind, to provide peace and support during difficult times.
- Toys and distraction tools for children who need a little help coping with scary procedures.
- Comfortable chairs for cancer patients undergoing treatment.
- Inkless stamp kits for grieving parents, allowing them to create lasting memories with their babies.
- Over 53,000 volunteer hours every year, with more than 550 volunteers gifting their time and talents across Wellington, Kenepuru, and Hutt Hospitals. And 12,000 knitted items donated to keep children warm and comforted.
It’s these little moments - the things that can’t always be measured - that make a hospital stay better.
A new look for the future.
As we celebrate this milestone, we’re excited to share our refreshed logo and visual identity, which represents both our past and our future. The two interlocking shapes form both a pair of hearts and a subtle ‘W’ for Wellington.
This simple, memorable mark reflects the strength of a community united in support of our public hospitals.
Celebrating our community.
We couldn’t have achieved any of this without the incredible support of our donors, volunteers and partners, who are at the heart of everything we do.
Whether you’ve given your time, made a donation, or simply spread the word, thank you!
We are deeply grateful for your commitment to improving healthcare in our community.