Bezzina House – a home away from home for cancer patients

Bezzina House was opened in 1998 by the NSW Governor-General Gordon Samuels, thanks to funding from the wonderful St George and Sutherland Shire communities.

The concept and planning of the building were a huge undertaking, developed over almost 34 years ago. The project commenced when St George Hospital purchased two blocks of land, and a fundraising committee was formed to raise funds for the construction. The St George and Sutherland communities were instrumental in the fundraising success, raising over $1.6 million.

Bezzina House was built specifically for cancer patients who need to travel from regional NSW or interstate for specialised treatment or surgery, providing accommodation for patients and their carers.

Michael Bezzina was engaged to construct the building. Michael arranged a large amount of work to be completed through goods-in-kind, along with donations from suppliers he coordinated. Michael was instrumental in the success of the construction, and we are forever grateful to him.

Patients and carers have been airlifted from country NSW for ICU care. In some cases, this has been for a single-night stay, while in others it has lasted for months, depending on individual needs.

Bezzina House has 15 self-contained units that offer low-cost, home-away-from-home accommodation for cancer patients, their families and patients undergoing inpatient or outpatient treatment or surgery.

Specialised treatments provided at St George Hospital can include brachytherapy, Lutetium therapy, stem cell transplant, radiation therapy and peritonectomy surgery.

Bezzina House is self-funded and relies on revenue from room charges, donations and volunteers to remain operational. Room charges are kept to a minimum so families undergoing treatment do not have to worry about high accommodation costs.

Feedback from our guests includes:

It is wonderful to be able to stay so close to the hospital.

Bezzina House has made our lives so much easier with a facility that offers so much care – it feels like home.

The manager of Bezzina House, Denise Clancy, ensures all guests feel welcome and comfortable.

Speaking with Denise took all our stress away. She is welcoming and warm, as are the other staff. I could not recommend Bezzina House more highly.

It has made our lives so much easier to be able to stay here, and we just love it – it feels like a home away from home.

Bezzina House has a wonderful history of serving the community for over 27 years and has been supported by local clubs, particularly St George Leagues Club and St George Motorboat Club. Both clubs have been long-time supporters.

Bezzina House has also been extremely well supported through the Georges River Council ClubGRANTS program, with both St George Leagues Club and St George Motorboat Club contributing. St George Leagues Club was involved from the earliest fundraising efforts and has donated over $100,000.

Bezzina House management is very proud of the community efforts that help fund the service provided, along with the continued and generous support received from St George Leagues Club and St George Motorboat Club.

Bezzina House is pleased to advise of the wonderful support we have received from Highgrove Bathrooms. Highgrove Bathrooms is a company with several outlets through the east coast and inland areas of Australia They supply high quality sanitary ware and bathroom fittings.

We provide photos of the finished bathrooms which highlights the quality of the bathroom fittings these include, toilet suites, towel rails ,toilet roll holders, soap holders, shower screens, taps, shower  heads fixed and adjustable along with  beautiful timber vanities all of which has been supplied by Highgrove Bathrooms for five of our rooms.

Bezzina House is extremely pleased to publicly thank Highgrove Bathrooms for their wonderful generosity and support.

Written by Rob Robson, Chairperson, Bezzina House Committee