Neonatal nurses at Lismore Base Hospital will be able to take part in extra training and education opportunities, thanks to an incredible donation of $20,000 from the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, supported by local charity Our Kids.

The donation was in response to the media coverage of the February and March floods and hearing the stories of recovery in the Lismore community.

"Reaching out and lending a hand was the least we could do, especially given so many Lismore colleagues were personally affected by the biggest flood in modern Australian history," said Angela Casey, Critical Care Clinical Program Director at Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (SCHN).

Experts from the SCHN’s Newborn and paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS) recently visited colleagues at Lismore Base Hospital's Special Care Nursery, delivering a free two-day skills-based workshop.

"A small team of NETS doctors and nurses volunteered their time to run the two-day workshop, which focussed strongly on simulation training as well as the latest advancements in neonatal ventilation, cardiac diagnosis, resuscitation and intubation,” Ms Casey said.

"The community has been through extraordinary trauma and loss, and we felt it was our obligation to do something practical to help out.”

Nurse Unit Manager of the Lismore Base Hospital Special Care Nursery, Joanne Ezzy said after the hardship and loss the region, and some of her staff, had suffered, the visit from the NETS team was an amazing boost.

“The talk amongst our neonatal nurses and Paediatric Medical Team since the workshops has been how brilliant it was and how much we got out of it,” Ms Ezzy said.

“Everyone was so lovely and friendly, and we felt nurtured by those who came to educate and guide us through the simulations and answer all our questions.

“Thanks to the grant, some of our SCN staff will also be able to attend other neonatal conferences and workshops, to keep us up to date with evidence-based practice so that we can continue to provide the high-quality care we strive to give and pride ourselves on.”

In addition to training, supporting local businesses was a priority, with more than $2,000 worth of gift vouchers purchased and donated to health professionals personally devastated by the floods.

The vouchers were organised through Our Kids and were purchased at local small businesses, including Farmer Charlies, Henry's Bakehouse, North Coast Petrol, Mary G Restaurant and PJ Fruit & Veg.

“A huge thank you to the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network team for supporting our Lismore Special Care Nurses, as this donation and the education and skills that will be learnt will greatly benefit the Northern Rivers Community,” Rebekka Battista, Our Kids Fundraising Coordinator, said.

“Our Kids already has two Education Scholarship Funds set up thanks to past bequests. This donation will further enhance the opportunities for local staff.”

For more information about Our Kids or educational scholarships, please contact the Our Kids office on (02) 6620 2705.