Murray to Moyne team raises $11,000+ for Edenhope hospital

Edenhope’s 2026 Murray to Moyne team smashed its fundraising target, raising more than $11,000 for the local health service. 

Thanks to the 12-strong team’s efforts, and the community’s support, Grampians Health Edenhope can now purchase three pieces of equipment: a treatment chair, a specialised lifting cushion and a second blood spinner. 

“This is a remarkable demonstration of community spirit, which will have very real and long-lasting benefits for the Edenhope campus,” Grampians Health Chief People Officer Claire Woods said. 

“We, as an organisation, are so grateful to the Edenhope Murray to Moyne team, for not only taking on such a gruelling physical challenge but for extracting such immense support from the community. 

“It is a groundbreaking amount of money, donated in difficult financial times.” 

The fundraising tally, to date, is sitting at $11,348. 

Staff members have already selected a gas-assisted treatment chair, with electric adjustments, designed for use in hospital settings. 

It will replace a chair purchased in 2006, which maintenance staff can no longer find parts for. 

“This piece of equipment has been on the team’s wish-list for a long time, because it’s something they use all the time,” acting campus manager Folasade Obagbemi said. 

“This specialised modern treatment chair will be far easier and safer to use and, importantly, a lot comfier for patients.” 

The acute ward will also see the arrival of an Elk lift, which allows nursing staff to assist patients who need help getting up from the floor. The device inflates in stages, providing stable assistance to people of all sizes. 

“This is a portable device that we can use across the acute ward and in Lakeside Living care community,” Ms Obagbemi said. 

“Unfortunately, falls are a fact of life and our teams need to assist in a way that also ensures their own safety; that’s what the Elk lift will enable.” 

The Edenhope campus will also purchase a second centrifuge (blood spinner), which is used to separate whole blood samples into plasma, platelets and red blood cells. 

It means there will soon be a spinner at the Health and Wellbeing HUB, as well as the acute ward. 

Edenhope Murray to Moyne team leader, Chad Eastwood, said the team was overwhelmed by the size and number of donations. 

“We had kind of accepted this would be a hard year to fundraise, especially with the cost of fuel and that sense of uncertainty,” he said. 

“As always, people were really generous and got behind us all the way. 

“We were getting updates about donations on the road, and it definitely helped keep the legs going!”