Graduate photo of Griffith Uni student
Malpa student participating in program.
Aspen Foundation Logo

Wherever they need us. 

As a health promotion charity, we support healthcare initiatives and focus on empowering people to make them happen. 

Founded in 2008, we have always focused on giving back to the communities in which we work. 

Our efforts range from establishing clinics for scabies treatment to providing scholarships for nursing students. Our vision goes beyond healthcare; it's fostering thriving communities by removing barriers and embracing opportunities.

To formalise and increase our support for those who need it most, the Aspen Medical shareholders allocate a percentage of Aspen Medical's profits to the Aspen Medical Foundation.  

The Aspen Medical Foundation is a registered charity and a member of Philanthropy Australia, the national peak body for philanthropy and a not-for-profit membership organisation whose mission is to lead an innovative, growing, influential and high-performing philanthropic sector in Australia.

Our focus
  • Support communities where Aspen Medical operates, to leverage our relationships.
  • Identify and support leaders in policy influence and systems change in healthcare.
  • Build capacity in healthcare workers to enable better health outcomes.
  • Engage our team, alumni and customers in creating change. 

Our pillars

Aspen Medical Foundation Pillars - First Nation Health, Disability Health and Indo-Pacific Health

Beneath these foundational pillars, we integrate overarching themes such as gender equality, environmental sustainability, inclusivity, and diversity alongside the advocacy of Indigenous rights.

 

The Aspen Medical Foundation’s 2023/24 impact report

Empowering change: a year of impact, innovation, and compassion

Report | 24 October 2024

This impact report highlights nearly $1 million in investments, supporting initiatives like prosthetics in Ukraine and the Malpa Young Doctors in Western Australia. The Foundation continues its commitment to education with new scholarships for Fijian students and ongoing support for First Nations students in Australia. Looking ahead, the Foundation plans to expand scholarships and strengthen partnerships to empower healthcare workers and communities further. Explore the full report to discover the impact of these initiatives. 

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Contact us
To learn more about the Foundation, our scholarships or to discuss a partnership opportunity, talk to our team.
Aboriginal student reading a book whilst lying on the grass.

 

Aspen Medical Foundation Scholarships

The Aspen Medical Foundation offers health-related scholarships through two focused programs:

  • Scholarships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

    This program supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples already enrolled in health-related degree programs to alleviate financial burdens and enhance educational opportunities.

    Learn more about our Australian scholarships

  • Fiji Health Workforce Capacity Scholarship

    This scholarship aids nurses at Ba and Lautoka Hospitals in Fiji, enabling them to pursue postgraduate qualifications in critical healthcare areas at Fiji National University.

    Learn more about our Fijian scholarships

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Current Partnerships

The Aspen Medical Foundation focuses on identifying and supporting organisations that are delivering programs that aim to significantly reduce or eradicate key illnesses in Australian and Asian-Pacific communities. We partner with these organisations to leverage our combined capabilities and resources. These resources are not limited to funding but also include the expertise and time of the Aspen Medical team.

Alcoa
Alcoa Foundation

Funded by an Alcoa Foundation grant, Aspen Medical Foundation works closely with First Medical Union (FMU), the largest health system in Ukraine and the leading rehabilitation site in the country. FMU’s Unbroken project is at the forefront of providing essential services, including reconstructive surgery, orthopaedics, robotic prosthetics, and comprehensive physical, psychological, and psychosocial rehabilitation.

The grant from Alcoa Foundation will enable the procurement of quality prosthetic limbs, tailored to meet individual needs, and facilitate a comprehensive training program for FMU rehabilitation professionals. This project goes beyond the immediate relief of physical disabilities; it is an investment in the long-term resilience and well-being of the affected individuals and their communities.

Malpa
Malpa Young Doctors

The Aspen Medical Foundation has partnered with Malpa since 2014 to provide funding for the Young Doctors Program.

For thousands of years the Ngangkari – the traditional Aboriginal healers in Central Australia – have passed on their skills to young children. The idea of children being “doctors” is deeply embedded in Indigenous culture and life. Now this idea is getting a new injection of life with the Young Doctors project. The project employs respected community members to teach the traditional ways and the contemporary ways of creating healthy communities to Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. The Children become health leaders to their younger peers and their community.

UNSW
University of New South Wales

In 2021, the Aspen Medical Foundation provided a grant to Professor Trollor at University of NSW to conduct research into people with intellectually disabilities, with a focus on Down Syndrome.

The research examines the period and annualised standard prevalence of (any and serious) mental health conditions in people with intellectual disability (compared to the general population), and the incidence and predictors of cancers by cancer type in people with intellectual disability (compared to the general population).

The funding will support a specific analysis of people with Down syndrome in this work. 

University of Newcastle logo
University of Newcastle

In 2021, the Aspen Medical Foundation donated $25,000 to the University of Newcastle for the following projects:

  • Awabakal Aboriginal Medical Services – support with dialysis care.
  • Yerin Aboriginal Medical Services – response to supporting adolescent mental health.
  • Community panel to support aboriginal research. 

HAC
Hands Across Canberra

Through Hands Across Canberra, the Aspen Medical Foundation supports numerous organisations through the Collaborative Grants Round. To date, the Aspen Medical Foundation has supported several local projects, including Fearless Woman, which creates a framework, structure and tools that support young women; Women’s Health Matters, which run post-prison release support programs; and, Mental Health for Mob, which focusses on better Indigenous mental health care in the ACT.      

MIEACT
Mental Illness Education ACT

In 2023, the Aspen Medical Foundation signed a three-year partnership with Mental Illness Education ACT (MIEACT).

MIEACT is the primary local mental health and well-being education provider for workplaces, community groups and secondary schools across the Canberra region and surrounding area.

ACRF
Australian Cancer Research Foundation

In 2023, the Aspen Medical Foundation partnered with the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) to create the Lung Cancer Screening Centre of Excellence (LUSCE). 

LUSCE will be a world first mobile multiplatform lung cancer research facility, integrating imaging, computer aided analytics, breath and blood biomarker testing, to determine the most effective way to detect lung cancer early when it can be treated. Findings from this pilot project will be used to support the establishment of a government-funded national lung cancer screening program providing equitable access for all Australians.

Housed on a purpose-built trailer, LUSCE will travel to locations across rural and remote Queensland. The mobile nature of ACRF LUSCE will allow it to reach pockets of rural and remote Queensland, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, where lung cancer rates are disproportionately high.

Clean Slate Clinic
Clean Slate Clinic

In 2023, the Aspen Medical Foundation partnered with Clean Slate Clinic to provide services in remote Queensland.

Clean Slate Clinic is a healthcare social enterprise focussed on helping Australians keen to detox from alcohol, safely from home.

Clean Slate Clinic’s mission is to improve the health and wellness of individuals struggling with alcohol dependence and make withdrawal (detox) and recovery services accessible to every Australian who needs them, irrespective of postcode or socio-economic status.

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Our Team

Photo of Sian Keys taken outside.
Sian has worked across the government and not-for-profit sectors, focusing on informal STEM education. She is passionate about improving access to education for women and people with disability.

Through her work developing science programs for young adults with disability, Sian was awarded the 2017 Chief Minister’s Inclusion Award for Excellence in Volunteer Support and was a finalist for the 2018 ACT Young Australian of the Year. Sian has also been an Advisory Council Member on the ACT Ministerial Advisory Council for Women since 2019.

Sian Keys

Foundation Chair

Photo of Amelda Keys taken outside.
Amelda (Mel) is a qualified Social Worker and has had an extensive career in the child and family, health and disability sectors. Mel also has qualifications in Business, Pastoral Care and Mothercraft Nursing, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mel is passionate about giving back to the community and for many years now, she has been involved with, and supported, numerous Not for Profit organisations, in particular in the areas of disability, indigenous health, housing and food rescue.

Amelda Keys GAICD

Foundation Board Member, and co-owner of Aspen Medical

Photo of Craig Fitzgerald taken outside.
Craig is an accomplished business manager with extensive experience in project planning, development and implementation, within Australia and overseas. He has proven business acumen, having negotiated contracts within Australia and overseas.

He has extensive experience in the Solomon Islands having originally been employed as the Aspen Medical In-Country Manager and since 2005, has run a number of for profit and Not for Profit programs in the Solomons.

Craig Fitzgerald

Foundation CEO and COO of Aspen Medical

Photo of Glenn Keys taken outside.
Glenn is the founder and Executive Chair of Aspen Medical. Prior to building and leading businesses in the private sector, Glenn had a distinguished career in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). He is a graduate of the University of New South Wales and the International Test Pilots School in the UK, and a member of the Australian Institute of Project Management, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia. Glenn sits on a number of Boards including the National Disability Insurance Agency, the Australian War Memorial, and Project Independence.

Project Independence is a not-for-profit that Glenn founded in 2012 to provide homeownership for people with an intellectual disability and is the only homeownership program of its kind in Australia. In January 2022, the Minister for Foreign Affairs appointed Glenn to the position of Chair of the Board on the Australian Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Council.

Glenn Keys AO

Foundation Board Member, and Founder and Executive Chair of Aspen Medical

Corporate photo of Paul Bird.
Over the last 30 years, Paul has had the privilege of working in the private and social sectors in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. He has been the CEO/GM/Director of The Body Shop, Very Special Kids, YSAS, Mission Australia Victoria and Australian Volunteers International; COO the Brotherhood of St Laurence; CFO of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service; Head of Program Resourcing, and emergency logistics for World Vision Australia.

He specialises in advising and facilitating strategy for businesses and not-for-profits through significant internal and external challenges, to adapt and strengthen their purpose, performance and financial sustainability.

Initially qualifying with Arthur Andersen in the UK, Paul ran the KPMG practice for Gambia and francophone West Africa from 1990-1993, including running a national airline and selling a national bank, before establishing the emergency program for the Lutheran World Federation in Bosnia and Croatia during the conflict in 1993-1994. Before returning to Australia in 1995, Paul spent 18 months in the northern Philippines with a UK engineering company, rebuilding the country’s infrastructure as part of a European Union-sponsored earthquake rehabilitation program.

In 2021, Paul authored a book called 'PurposeFull, How businesses and not-for-profits do better as purpose-driven organisations'. He also established Zero Together, started a consultancy called PurposeFull, and joined Brainwave Australia as their CEO.

Paul Bird

Foundation Board Member and CEO of Brainwave

Photo of Dayle Mathews taken in the office.
Dale is a confident and capable administrator and team leader with a passion for project and personnel support, operational workforce planning and service delivery. Her success has been built on her ability to quickly develop relationships with stakeholders of all levels and backgrounds, whilst using her strong analytical and problem-solving skills to achieve business objectives that deliver innovative outcomes.

Dayle Mathews

Board Observer and Aspen Medical Workforce Strategic Team Leader

Photo of Melissa Broers taken outside.
As the Social Impact Manager for the Aspen Medical Foundation, Mel runs the scholarship program, works closely with the Foundation Board and is involved more broadly in Aspen Medical's Corporate Social Responsibility projects.

Mel has worked for Aspen Medical for over 10 years and her previous positions were in the Culture and Performance division as Project Officer. She also worked for Aspen Medical in West Africa during the Ebola Outbreak in 2014-15.

Melissa Broers

Foundation Manager

Corporate phot of Sam Pearce.
To come

Samantha Pearce

Board Observer and Aspen Medical WA State Manager

Thanks to our supporters 

The Aspen Medical Foundation has undergone a remarkable transformation this year. We've introduced a new name, undertaken a rebranding initiative and revised our constitution. This journey of change would not have been possible without the unwavering support of our supporters.

 

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