A community-led palliative care service has welcomed a new chief executive officer to lead its growth and advocacy.
The board of Katie Rose Cottage Hospice conducted a national recruitment search before appointing Rebecca Grisman, a long-time local with community and charity leadership experience.
Board chair and director Les Godwin said Ms Grisman’s passion for health and aged care, and expertise in senior management and consulting to not-for-profits, government and corporate leaders, would be key to the organisation’s continued success.
“Rebecca has a proven ability to foster collaboration, innovation and relationship building that has supported charities, universities and major businesses to achieve their vision, and we are very pleased to have her join and lead our team,” he said.
“Rebecca has been recognised with many community and industry awards, and served on high-profile charity, school and government committees and boards, in addition to her professional career in media, marketing and fundraising for more than 30 years at the Sunshine Coast: she is an ideal fit for us now and in future.”
Priorities for the new CEO include extending the facility’s partnership with the state government to deliver more beds for people requiring end-of-life care, developing the hospice’s fundraising strategy to support its exceptional nurses and improving public understanding of palliative care.
“We are entering a new and important phase at Katie Rose Cottage Hospice’s leading practice palliative care, not just across the region but across Australia,” Mr Godwin said.
“We’ve recently expanded our exemplary care by establishing an outreach service that provides expert home-based care and support for those facing terminal illnesses and their families, and yet we remain mostly self-funded.
“Our hospice does not charge for its services and its palliative care nursing experts are only 20 per cent state government funded, so we must fundraise in our community for the remainder: it’s very challenging each year.
Want more free local news? Follow Sunshine Coast News on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up for our FREE daily news email
“A growing and ageing population is driving the need for more palliative care. We rely on our community’s support and know that Rebecca will strengthen our organisation and valuable relationships.”
Katie Rose Cottage Hospice, established in 2016, is based at Doonan.
