donation (from the club and also the Boal family) to Macquarie Home Stay managing director Rod Crowfoot (at centre) on Monday night.
The Rotary Club of Cobar has been providing ongoing support for Dubbo’s Macquarie Home Stay since fundraising for the facility began back in 2013.
Macquarie Home Stay provides affordable low cost accommodation for people from northern and western NSW who need to travel to Dubbo for specialist medical treatment.
Macquarie Home Stay’s managing director Rod Crowfoot was in Cobar on Monday to meet with Rotary Club of Cobar members.
“Because the Rotary Club has been such a strong regular supporter of Home Stay, it was a great way to give them an update on what we’re doing and the importance of what we’re providing for the Cobar community.
“It was also a great chance to catch up with past supporters, sponsors, donors, those in referral pathways, people who access the service and potential future partners and referral pathways as well,” Mr Crowfoot said.
“Part of it is a general awareness of who we are and what we do.”
Mr Crowfoot said since the facility opened in 2019, Cobar residents have been the biggest users.
He said in addition to supplying accommodation, staff can also help patients access the IPTAAS travel and accommodation subsidy to help make their journey a bit more affordable.
Mr Crowfoot told The Cobar Weekly they are on average having to turn away approximately three people per day (or 1,200 per year) as they just don’t have the room to accommodate everyone.
He said they have plans for another 26 units. He hopes they will commence building at the end of the year and will be completed in approximately nine months.
“The area that we will provide the most support for is the Western Cancer Centre.
“The 26 units we are building are very much there to provide the accommodation for those coming in for radiotherapy and chemotherapy and all those cancer related treatments.
“We’ve been asking patients when they come and stay with us; What works well for you? What would you like to see changed? How can we do things different?
“So we’ve made some changes in our design to make it more user-friendly for those longer term type treatments,” Mr Crowfoot said.
“They’ve all got their own kitchenettes and we’ve increased the size of our common area.”
He said they have also internalised the hallways, increased the size of the dining area and outdoor spaces and outdoor seating.
“We’ve very much listened to what our guests have told us they would like.”
He said in addition to cancer and maternity patients, the biggest users are people travelling to Dubbo for general specialist appointments, who need to stay for one or two nights because they have to see a specialist and then from there, could lead to surgery.
“About half the guests that stay with us every month are return guests and that’s telling us that not only are they happy with the accommodation we are providing and the services we offer, but it’s the frequency of how often people are having to come back.
“It’s not one trip, they are coming back for the same thing, maybe multiple times.”
Mr Crowfoot said they welcome support from any local businesses and organisations that want to help out.
“Macquarie Home Stay sort of gives people a home and a place to stay and takes some of those financial burdens away when things don’t go to plan.
“Having everybody being part of helping us grow and become bigger just makes our communities happier and healthier,” he said.
