The RCH is pioneering Joey Pod to address the pressing need for better care for adolescents grappling with eating disorders. In response to an alarming surge in cases, Joey Pod offers a custom-built, inpatient environment and an innovative new model of core. Previously, medical and mental health care for eating disorders has been disjointed. The ...
The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation
Joey Pod: Support for Eating Disorders

GOAL
$306,999
Field of Interest
- Health/wellbeing and medical research
- Individual/family services and support
Target Population
- Young people (6-25)
- People with a disability, illness or disease

The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) has been providing outstanding care to Victoria's children and their families for over 150 years. The RCH Foundation is the fundraising arm of the hospital. We raise, manage and distribute money to enable the RCH to provide the best care to patients and their families. Your support can help create a brighter future for sick children.
Our mission: we inspire our community to invest in the hospital's future by supporting care, treatment, research and learning that will improve the lives of young people and their families.
Our Vision - We are changing the future of children's health. Our vision is that RCH, founded in philanthropy, supported now and in the future will have the capacity to transform health care for children and young people.
Our Impact - the hospital will become a global centre of excellence in the care and treatment of the sickest and most vulnerable children and young people. With the support of integrated research programs, great academic leadership and first class staff, it will truly be known for its impact on childhood diseases nationally and internationally.
Project Summary
The RCH is pioneering Joey Pod to address the pressing need for better care for adolescents grappling with eating disorders.
In response to an alarming surge in cases, Joey Pod offers a custom-built, inpatient environment and an innovative new model of core. Previously, medical and mental health care for eating disorders has been disjointed. The new Joey Pod program provides a multidisciplinary team of medical and mental health experts, together in one environment, who will work young patients to manage the acute phase of their eating disorder and associated mental health complexities.
Joey Pod provides a safe and accessible environment that has been designed in consultation with young people with lived experience of eating disorders. The service will offer three private in-patient bedrooms with ensuites, a communal lounge and TV area, a nurses’ station, and a private treatment room. The care team includes paediatricians, psychiatrists, medical and mental health nurses, dieticians, psychologists, peer workers, art and music therapists, diversional therapists and occupational therapists.
The implementation of Joey Pod aligns with recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, including the development of a Live Experience and Parent Advisory Group, to ensure the voices of those impacted are heard in the design and implementation of this new program.
Within the new custom-built space at RCH, the Joey Pod team will provide expert, multidisciplinary care that is comprehensive, age-appropriate, individualised, holistic, inclusive, evidence-based, recovery-oriented and trauma-informed.
Project Outcomes
NEW PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT - The reconfiguration of an existing space at RCH will provide three new specialty care beds and supporting infrastructure, to provide the appropriate environment for acute eating disorder patients.
IMPROVED HEALTH OUTCOMES - This new, evidence-based approach to delivering care ensures physical, social and mental health needs are equally prioritised in one location. We expect improved health outcomes for these patients, including a reduction in re-hospitalisations.
Budget Breakdown
TOTAL BUDGET: $1,107,480
FUNDING
Funding source | Amount |
---|---|
Corporate donor (confirmed) | $57,841 |
Private donor (confirmed) | $5,000 |
Corporate donor (unconfirmed) | $35,000 |
Community fundraising (confirmed) | $672,639 |
Funding gap (unconfirmed) | $307,000 |
EXPENSES
Expense item | Amount |
---|---|
Building reconfiguration | $994,000 |
Project management costs | $80,000 |
Quantity surveyor | $9,680 |
ICT equipment for nurses' station | $6,500 |
Joey Pod furntiure | $17,300 |
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