Bedside manna: Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing Catherine King and MPs Richard Marles and Darren Cheeseman at the hospital announcement on Wednesday. Picture: Tommy Ritchie 54820
Erin Pearson
A NEW 250-bed hospital with an emergency ward is set to open at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus.
Epworth HealthCare and Deakin unveiled a partnership on Wedensday to build the “world-class” facility linked to the university’s medical school.
Epworth group chief executive Alan Kinkade said the private hospital would provide “day-to-day” health care while allowing Deakin students to hone their skills in real-world experiences.
Mr Kinkade said Epworth Geelong would begin accepting patients in May, 2013.
“Epworth Geelong combines the best in a new private health facility with state-of-the-art operating theatres, delivery suites, day cancer and renal dialysis facilities and an emergency department integrated with Deakin’s training and research activities,” he said.
Mr Kinkade said the high-tech facility would also host training in robotic surgery and neurology.
The facility would create 620 full-time jobs and work for 1000 in total, he said.
Epworth HealthCare would contribute $2.8 million to the hospital.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing Catherine King announced Federal Government would provide $5 million.
“This announcement will really benefit not just this community but the broader community also,” she said.
“It will benefit undergraduate and postgraduate students across the disciplines of medicine, nursing, midwifery and psychology.”
Wednesday’s announcement followed the August opening of Geelong’s $47 million Regional Community Health Hub at Belmont and $15 million in new campus laboratories at the Waurn Ponds University.
Deakin Medical School head Brendan Crotty was “battling to keep up” with all the announcements.
“This is part of a very rapidly expanding research focus down here at Waurn Ponds and we’re very much hoping to use the medical school to turn Waurn Ponds into a major centre for health and biology research in the future.”
Epworth HealthCare is Victoria’s largest not-for-profit hospital group, admitting more than 107,000 patients annually.
Mr Kinkade said Epworth’s partnership with the USA’s Cleveland Clinic would allow Deakin students to train and work abroad.
