About Pulmonary Hypertension Association Australia
PHA Australia was founded in 2005. PHA Australia – Pulmonary Hypertension Association Australia Incorporated was registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on the 29th August 2005.
PHA Australia website, phaaustralia.com.au was launched on the 18th November 2005. The website was established to provide hope, support, and education and to promote awareness and to advocate for the pulmonary hypertension community. A support group was also established at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne.
PHA Australia was founded by Wayne and Carmel Norton after the sudden and unexpected passing of their 22-year-old daughter, Sarah. Sarah lost her life 40 hours after the birth of her son, Ethan. The coroner’s report findings showed that Sarah had Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. Being such a rare and relatively unknown disease, there was little information available. Due to this the family wanted to develop a greater understanding, wanted to connect with others, raise awareness, funds, and support for those affected.
The family’s first official fundraiser was in November 2004. The trivia night raised more than $5,500.00 and this amount was matched by pharmaceutical company Actelion. $11,000.00 was donated to The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. The cheque was presented to Dr Helen Whitford with proceeds raised to go towards research for pulmonary hypertension. Actelion also provided funding to establish the PHA Australia website. Carmel developed strong connections with Actelion who supported the development and growth of the PHA Australia website. Carmel also attended their conference as a guest speaker in February 2005.
To develop connections and build capacity to establish an Australian website and support group, members of the family attended conferences overseas. In June 2006 Wayne and Carmel attended the PHA International Conference in Minnesota. PHA Australia President and Founder Carmel was an official guest speaker at this event. In September 2006 Carmel and daughter Megan travelled to Barcelona to attend another conference on behalf of PHA Australia.
In 2006 Carmel connected with Annie Whittaker. Annie and Carmel shared much in common with both children diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. Annie’s son Tim was battling the disease and Annie and Tim had established a pulmonary hypertension support group and information page. From these discussions, Annie and Tim’s group joined PHA Australia. A short time after Carmel decided to step down as President with Annie Whittaker taking on the role.
The Norton family remain strong advocates for PHA Australia and continue to represent and support those impacted by Pulmonary Hypertension.
Mission Statement
The mission of Pulmonary Hypertension Association Australia Incorporated (PHA Australia) is to provide hope, support and education, and to promote awareness and to advocate for the pulmonary hypertension community.
PHA Australia is an incorporated, registered, non profit organisation managed by a committee that is elected every year at the Annual General Meeting. This committee is made up of PH patients, family members and friends.
PHA Australia brings hope and a better understanding of pulmonary hypertension to many families throughout Australia and the world. Each year brings advances in PH treatment and more answers. A fabulous gift at any time would be a donation to our site, so we can continue to work at raising awareness of this disease. You can do this by contacting us at admin@phaaustralia.com.au.
Together we are stronger.