SingHealth announced today the donation of S$10 million from the Lee Foundation in support of SingHealth's nurse education programmes, including Singapore General Hospital's Institute of Advanced Nursing (IAN) which will be renamed the Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing, and the proposed Nursing Degree School on Outram Campus. This donation to the SingHealth Foundation comes soon after the Lee Foundation made a significant donation towards the annual SingHealth-Lee Foundation Nursing Awards that were launched and presented at the SingHealth Nurses' Week Celebration Party today.
Currently SingHealth offers a range of nurse education programmes. A large number of skills-based courses are offered at SGH's IAN, this first such institute in Singapore to be set up within a hospital. Lee Foundation's generosity will enable SingHealth to consolidate all these its existing nurse education programmes, and to bring it under the umbrella of the expanded Institute of Advanced Nursing. This Institute will be renamed the Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing in memory of Mr Lee Seng Gee's late mother, Mrs Alice Lee. Mr Lee and his family are grateful for the outstanding medical care provided to the late Mrs Lee and are also impressed by the dedication of the nurses.
"Nurses are taking on a greater role as part of the healthcare team. The establishment of the Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing and the proposed Nursing Degree School at Outram Campus is integral to SingHealth's continuous efforts in the professional development of nurses," said Professor Tan Ser Kiat, Group CEO of SingHealth and CEO of Singapore General Hospital. "We are extremely appreciative of the Lee Foundation's firm endorsement and support of our efforts to achieve nursing excellence. Their generous donation and unwavering commitment gives credence to our initiatives and paves the way for new and exciting possibilities for nursing."
The Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing serves to complement existing academic nursing programmes offered by institutions such as Nanyang Polytechnic, Institute of Technical Education, National University of Singapore and Singapore Institute of Management. It will offer courses that are accredited by the Singapore Nursing Board. With the establishment of the Institute, nurses in Singapore can look forward to continuously improving their knowledge and skills in providing the best care to their patients. The Institute also offers advanced nursing programmes such as courses in specialised home nursing, specialty nursing, pain management and continuous renal replacement therapy.
The Institute will also customise courses for groups of local and foreign nurses who wish to further their knowledge in fields related to nursing. An example is tailor-made nursing management courses where participants learn more about human resource and finance, among other management tracks. This is made possible by tapping on the existing resources available within SingHealth's network.
SingHealth is delighted that the Lee Foundation has agreed to SingHealth's suggestion that the donation could also be used towards the setting up of the proposed Nursing Degree School on Outram Campus. This supports the plan for NUS Outram Campus, which has scope to offer undergraduate training in allied health sciences such as pharmacy, nursing and physiotherapy. It will also fund other aspects of SingHealth's nursing programme such as overseas training and Master or PhD degree programmes.
SingHealth's nurses joyously received this news at the end of a series of activities organised to commemorate Nurses' Week at SingHealth. It follows the presentation of the inaugural SingHealth-Lee Foundation Nursing Awards at SingHealth's cluster-wide Nurses' Week Celebration Party on 29 July 2004. The awards, totaling S$20,000 in cash, went to 10 outstanding nurses from various SingHealth institutions (see attached fact sheet for information on the recipients).
Other highlights of the party included food stalls manned by SingHealth's senior management, song performances by SingHealth's doctors, nurses and allied health staff, and the finals of the talent contest, SingHealth Nurses Idol.
SingHealth's nursing celebrations, which began in mid-July, represent the many aspects of nursing, such as patient care, education, research and community outreach. Activities included the launch of a patient education website, the 2nd SingHealth Nursing Conference which showcased research findings by SingHealth's nurses, a new Nurses Pocket Guidebook, the SingHealth Nursing Debate, a public forum, a charity bazaar that raised S$20,500, and an outing for the residents of the Moral Welfare Home. All these represent SingHealth's holistic effort at bringing the nursing profession to greater heights.
About SingHealth
SingHealth is the largest provider of acute healthcare in Singapore, made up of 3 Hospitals, 5 National Specialist Centres and a network of 8 polyclinics. We are dedicated to providing quality healthcare that is affordable and accessible to our patients. At SingHealth, we are inspired by our shared values of Clinical Excellence, Commitment and Collaboration to provide Genuine Care to all our patients.
Members of the SingHealth group:
Hospitals
Changi General Hospital, KK Women's and Children's Hospital and Singapore General Hospital
National Specialist Centres
National Cancer Centre, National Dental Centre, National Heart Centre, Singapore National Eye Centre and National Neuroscience Institute
SingHealth Polyclinics
Bedok, Bukit Merah, Geylang, Marine Parade, Outram, Pasir Ris, Queenstown and Tampines
About SingHealth Foundation
SingHealth Foundation is a not-for-profit grant-making organisation that raises funds for various medical programmes that positively impact medical and healthcare services. It capitalises on SingHealth's many strengths to meet challenges in healthcare service, education and research that will address present and future healthcare needs. The Foundation hopes to fill gaps in the current healthcare service delivery system by supporting worthy programmes that might otherwise not be funded.
For further information, please visit us at www.singhealth.com.sg
For media enquiries and more information, please contact:
Ms Joan Lew
Asst Manager, Corporate Communications
SingHealth
DID: 6557 4914
Email: joan.lew@singhealth.com.sg
Ms Herniwaty Husni
Senior Executive, Corporate Communications
SingHealth
DID: 6557 4950
Email: herniwaty.husni@singhealth.com.sg