Halfway home for heart patients plan

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KOTA KINABALU: The Society For Sabah Heart Fund (SOSHF) hopes to raise up to RM750,000 to build or purchase a property that could be used as a ‘halfway home’ for congenital heart patients seeking treatment at the Likas Hospital, near here.

SOSHF honorary secretary Eva Susau told a press conference held in conjunction with a cheque presentation ceremony by Magma KTV and Bistro at the SOSHF office yesterday that they hope to begin fund-raising activities towards this end, beginning this year.

She explained the many difficulties faced by heart patients under the SOSHF sponsorship.

“Many of our patients are from the interior of Sabah and have to travel long distances just to undergo treatment in a hospital. Most of the time, they have to wait for days prior to their medical appointment and it is very tedious and difficult for the patients and their parents if they were to stay far from the hospital,” she said.

Eva said their patients are also poor so the cost of transportation and lodging while in the capital city is also a burden to them.

“It is also very inconvenient for parents with very young children — they may need to make bottled milk on a regular basis and carry their baggage around when they go to see the doctor,” she said.

Thus, it would be conducive if the halfway home is located within a walking distance from Hospital Likas, she said.

With the halfway home situated near Hospital Likas, SOSHF hopes to be able to address problems related to lodging and transportation and make the patients’ trip for the medical appointment less stressful.

“Patients may recover faster with the better facilities and peace of mind,” she said, adding that the lack of a halfway home for the heart patients is not only raised by SOSHF but also doctors who are treating them.

“They are encouraging us to take the lead to have such a home. Since we are celebrating our 30th Anniversary this year, I feel the time is right for us to launch a building fund for the halfway home. The campaign will be called ‘The Sabah Children Inn Building Fund’,” she said.

She said the government hospital also provides hostel facility for its patients, but it is almost always full.

Meanwhle, Magma KTV and Bistro yesterday donated RM10,000 to SOSHF.

The cash donation is to assist SOSHF to fund medical treatments, said Magma KTV and Bistro’s area manager, Pauline Lee.