A generous donation of essential medical supplies, as well as specialist services, has saved Port Stephens Koala Hospital significant costs.

In fact, Hunter Imaging’s extremely big-hearted gesture is allowing the much-loved facility to continue its care and rehab for the marsupials and other native wildlife in the area.

Ironically, it was a former employee, who’d taken up volunteering at the Anna Bay centre in 2022, who flouted the original idea.

She suggested repurposing surplus medical consumables to treat the animals that come into the hospital’s care.

Hunter Imaging’s ultrasound services manager Sarah Beadle then took up the cause.

As a result, she’s coordinated the donation of a wide range of items, such as gloves, syringes, biopsy needles, antiseptic swabs and sterile gel pouches.

“When presented with the concept of donating these goods to the Port Stephens Koala Hospital, we jumped at the opportunity to support a facility that does incredible work to support the wildlife in the region,” Ms Beadle said.

“I put the call out to our 21 practices across the Hunter, Central Coast and New England… and the response was overwhelming.

“Over the past 12 months, we’ve provided the hospital with a number of large boxes of consumables that have not only saved them thousands of dollars, but also helped to reduce our overall waste and environmental footprint.”

Port Stephens Koala Hospital’s resident veterinarian Dr Donald Hudson admitted the donation had been “invaluable”.

“We’ve been operating since 2020 and we couldn’t have done so without the generous support of the community, in particular, organisations such as Hunter Imaging,” he said.

“Along with koalas, we treat a variety of native wildlife, each with their own unique physiology, which means we must stock a wide range of medical consumables. 

“The donation from Hunter Imaging provides us with more treatment options and also allows us to reallocate funds that would have been used to purchase these items to other areas of the operation, including wages, maintaining plantations and general upkeep of the site.”

The company’s assistance has extended beyond the contributions, too, with specialist interventional radiologist Dr Amanda Woodward working closely with the hospital to provide diagnostic support.

“While much of the wildlife we treat present with fractures and common diseases, there have been some more unusual cases that are harder to diagnose, which is where I’ve helped,” she said.

One such situation is a koala named Lylah, who came into the care of the hospital with an unusual metabolic disease.

“It’s been wonderful to work with Dr Woodward, who provided an assessment of Lylah’s x-rays, enabling us to narrow down her issues and undertake more specific testing,” Dr Hudson explained.

“Accessing a medical specialist such as Dr Woodward, who provides her service to the hospital pro bono, will lead to even more positive outcomes for sick and injured wildlife that come into our care.

“We are incredibly thankful for her support, as well as that of Hunter Imaging and its employees.”

Port Stephen Koala Hospital’s rescue volunteers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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• More than $500,000 available for Hunter community organisations
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