Helping Cabrini's most vulnerable patients

We are humbled and so deeply grateful for the extraordinary gifts John Graham has given to Cabrini.

When John Graham received an unexpected gift from his late sister’s estate, he knew he wanted to do something special to honour the two people he loved most and help Cabrini’s most vulnerable patients.

Motivated by the extraordinary care and dedication his late partner Kevin O’Neill received at Cabrini, John decided to put in place two lasting legacies that would give back to others for decades to come.

Kevin O’Neill was a society florist and both John and Kevin shared a lifelong passion for the arts. By creating the Kevin O’Neill and John Graham Creative Arts Program, he has ensured cancer and palliative care patients will always have access to the therapeutic benefits of music and art therapy to help them manage their illness and anxiety.

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“I thought I’d like his name to be connected in some way with good works at Cabrini… I wanted to do something while I was alive,” John said.‍

John  also found a way to keep his dear sister’s memory alive. A former nurse herself, Margie Hunsicker had cared for her husband Robert while living with dementia and she eventually succumbed to dementia herself. Through his living bequest, John established the Margie Hunsicker Endowment Fund to support a newly created position dedicated to dementia care at Cabrini.

In January 2023 Cabrini appointed the inaugural Margie Hunsicker Dementia Clinical Support Nurse to provide cognitive impairment education and specialised care to those who need it most.
“I wanted to give something to others who experience that very difficult path,” John said. “The decline of somebody with dementia needs a particular care and that’s why I’m very happy to be involved with supporting Cabrini in this way.”

Thank you John for your great vision and compassion: these gifts will give back to thousands of Cabrini patients for years to come.

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