COUCH wellness centre officially opened, but next stage already being planned

A cancer care centre founded by the late Charles Woodward has been officially opened in Cairns today and there are plans for the facility to be expanded into an entire health precinct.

COUCH co-founder Pip Woodward and COUCH board chairman Ron Holden at the official opening of the organisation's new Cairns wellness centre in Manoora. Photo: Daniel Bateman

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CHARLES Woodward’s dream of opening an entire health precinct for the care and treatment of Far Northern cancer patients has taken a major step towards becoming a reality.

After construction started in July last year, COUCH today officially opened its $3 million wellness centre, on the Woodward family’s donated 2.5ha of land along Kauri St, Manoora.

The organisation has announced that the remaining 2.3h of the rainforest block would also be incorporated into the centre, which has potential to expand into a 20-bed hospice, and small medical centre.

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Charles Woodward, who died in 2017, at the site of the COUCH Wellness Centre in 2016 before construction started. PICTURE: ANNA ROGERS

The federal government has announced $1.3 million towards developing this second stage of the centre.

Pip Woodward, whose late husband Charles founded the centre, said it was always Mr Woodward’s vision to make the facility as great as possible.

“It was always never ‘draw breath and say this is done’, it’s ‘now we need this’,” she said.

“So that’s what we’re doing.”

Originally published as COUCH wellness centre officially opened, but next stage already being planned