There’s nothing quite like a sick child to shatter your illusion about life being fair, a reality that close to 120,000 New Zealand children live in each year.
This is the world the Starship Foundation faces daily, as it battles to fundraise within the framework of an increasingly tough marketplace, where instant brand recognition doesn’t automatically translate into dollars.
Corazon Miller talks to Brad Clark, the CEO of the Starship Foundation, who since 2010 has been working with dedicated staff to ensure that not only do our children get the healthcare they deserve, but they receive the “gold standard of care” that is among the best in the world.
Each year this social-profit organisation works hard to raise funds for New Zealand’s national children’s hospital, Starship Children’s Health, a dedicated paediatric healthcare service and major teaching centre that provides care to children and young people throughout the country and the South Pacific.
Annually, the Auckland-based hospital treats close to 120,000 children for a range of ailments; from something simple like a broken leg to the more life-threatening illnesses faced by the young oncology patients. The cost borne by the foundation to ensure, in the face of some very trying times, these children and their families receive world-class health-care, is between $6 – 10 million annually – a cost that is over and above what the Government provides.
These valuable dollars go towards a variety of initiatives such as building refurbishments, new technology, vital research, better family support, preventative programmes and staff training. In addition $1.5million of this is given to the Starship National Air Ambulance Service which ensures children in need of emergency care can be brought in from all around the country.
It’s no easy feat to keep a business running in today’s tough economic climate; even more so when you are relying on people to simply give. Brad shares just how he keeps the wheels of the social-profit organisation turning, giving insights into the rewards and the challenges that having such a tough job entails.
A reason to give
Brad’s constant reminder of just how important his job is lies in a little toddler close to his heart – his only child. “Today she is a two year old that melts my heart daily.”
When Brad took the role at Starship, little Kaitlin was only six-weeks old, but he says she had already given him reason to see just how important the work of the Foundation was. “As a relatively new dad at the time, this gave me another reason to help. I saw this new role as a way that I could help.”
Armed with his extensive management experience with a variety of large corporates such as Sovereign and American Express, Brad was well equipped for the challenge. His role immediately prior, general manager of marketing and fundraising for CanTeen, the cancer support group for young people, had him well prepped for the realities of the fundraising discipline.
Brad admits it’s challenging but knowing that you are making a difference in people’s lives made it well worth the while. “It [CanTeen] was my first full-time role within this sector. It felt good, it felt like the right place for me to be able to connect with those people on a day to day basis. It was special to be able to help them.”
Joining the team at Starship was therefore quite a natural progression for Brad. “It was a brilliant role to come to,” he says, paying homage to his predecessor and the staff who had laid down all the ground work before him. “They created a brand and a reputation and a presence in the country as being here for kids. It is a world class Foundation, with a great board of trustees. These are the people that I relished the opportunity to work with.”
Driving the brand
However, while creating a brand is integral to any business Brad says having such a well-established brand had pitfalls of its own. “The challenge is that we are a well-known brand, which can lead to the assumption that we are well-funded.
“But we continually need to reinforce in the public eye that though we are well branded our needs are not always met. Just because you know who we are does not mean that we are well-funded,” he says.
“It is a big challenge to get people talking about the need to underline Starship as a national body for children’s health. We need a centre of excellence and that is what Starship is for, but if it is not supported we will slip behind world standards in regards to the care of the children.”
The cost of gold
What Starship Children’s Health would be like without the help of the Foundation is what Brad describes as the year’s $8.5 million dollar (the target they have set for this year) question.
Every year the Foundation needs to raise between $6 – 10 million dollars, to ensure that every child receives the “gold standard of care”.
Without the Foundation, Brad says the hospital would not be what it is today.
“We wouldn’t have the hospital we have.
We wouldn’t have the equipment or the adequate nursing training. We would probably lose the air ambulance; the cost of this would fall back on DHBs around the country or on the consumer.
“I doubt others would be able to pick up that cost. The Government does do a lot; I believe they do the best they can for healthcare. But we need more than what the Government can provide to achieve a gold standard in healthcare. We deserve the best for our kids.”
Strategic diversity
Brad says the key to achieving such a big financial goal is through diversifying its strategies. The Starship Foundation runs a range of initiatives to bring the dollar in; from a range of regular giving programmes, to marketing initiatives, corporate partnerships and a range of community functions.
Of course the foundation was not immune to the effects of the recession. Brad says there was definitely a spin-off effect for the organisation, but this year has already shown positive signs of recovery. “We are seeing improvements in meeting our modest budget this year.”
However he says there is no point in looking back, rather it is important to keep driving forward and looking for new strategies that will work within the current climate. “What the global financial crisis has meant is that there is a new reality, there is no point in wishing we can go back – that is a waste of time. We need to be realigning ourselves with this new reality.”
Tough choices
Within this new reality there are, as always, tough choices that still need to be made. “There are no lack of areas that need our help,” Brad says. “What we get is not always enough.”
As a result Brad and his team are often faced with making an “or” rather than an “and” decision. Something is left off the list that could have had the potential to make a child’s life better.
It is a tough call to make, but Brad says the Foundation goes through a robust process to ensure that what money there is, is directed to the places that need it the most. “It is a robust process; it is a huge responsibility so we try to make sure we get it right, I don’t want to lead the donors astray.
“We have a strong partnership with Starship Children’s Health. We put the word out to the clinicians and ask the service managers to identify projects, equipment, training and new areas. We work with them to align their health priorities with the national and global priorities to make sure that we know we are making the right choices.”
Strained healthcare system
It is no news that the health sector is facing an increasing strain on its services and its budgets. Hospitals are often full to the brim, surgical waiting lists are long and medical professionals are often tackling increased workloads.
“It is no secret that Starship is currently working near to capacity all year around at the moment,” Brad says. “Historically the reality was that it was busy during the winter and there was down time during the summer. But now we are finding that Starship is at, or near capacity, for most of the year.”
Brad says while the responsibility and the long-term solution to the problem lies in the hands of the Government and the local District Health Boards, the Foundation does play its part in helping to provide solutions and “continues to be a part of the conversation”.
One example is the nearly completed $5million project which was aimed at redeveloping the 6th floor of Starship, the Neuroservices and Medical Specialities wards. The redesign will enable better provision of services, within a more family centric area and a better environment for staff to work in. The new ward will host mainly single rooms with parent beds, playrooms for the children and family rooms.
“We see ourselves playing a bigger and better role in the future, finding reasons, cures and treatments. We would like to see us working in collaboration with others around the world, sharing resources for research and education in order to find solutions.
“Our role is as an enabler.”
Community spirit
It is certainly exciting and fulfilling work; in any given day Brad says he might receive a message of thanks from a grateful parent or child who has received care from Starship, a corporate partnership might be formed or a large unplanned donation might fall on his desk.
Brad says it is particularly heart warming when the community gives back. With so many other good causes around he says it is certainly a privilege to be remembered. “It is a sign of the strength of connection that the Foundation has with families, who even after their children have left Starship continue to remember all that the Foundation has done.
“It is a privilege to be a part of their thoughts. We are lucky that the community thinks of us. They can help anyone but we are fortunate to be chosen by them.”
One young girl who is paying it back is 14-year-old Aucklander, Ruby Seeto. Her story with the hospital began when she was only nine years old. Two weeks after she returned from a family holiday, she felt unwell and her mother found a lump in her side which turned out to be a rare type of cancer.
During the space of a year she spent a lot of time in Starship and while it was certainly tough for Ruby, all the staff’s work and the top-class facilities, helped to make things just that little bit easier.
Five years later Ruby is happy and healthy, giving back to the place that helped her to battle through the tough times, by designing and selling tea-towels and donating all the proceeds to the Foundation.
Bittersweet
Brad says dealing with sick children and their needs on a daily basis is, of course, very emotional – but it is also inspirational. “My contact with patients is not as often as I like, but this is the aspect of the job that I do enjoy. It is what grounds me and helps me to go the extra mile,” he says. “They face such big challenges yet the manner in which they face them are inspiring. It’s inspiring to see how resilient they are.
“Sure it is emotional but you can direct that back to driving success.”
