Epworth Geelong was just a paddock when Leonie Lloyd officially commenced as clinical operations manager in 2014.
Ms Lloyd is now the hospital’s executive general manager, and will today celebrate five years since it opened in July 2016.
“When we opened Epworth Geelong, we had 350 employees,” she said.
“We now have 1100 staff to meet the growing demand for cardiac, cancer, maternity, orthopaedic and emergency care.
“It is humbling to see the support we have received from the community in the last five years.”
More than 120,000 people from Geelong and surrounding areas have been admitted to the hospital since it opened, according to Epworth.
On the first day, surgeons operated on just three patients. Now the hospital has about 100 procedures a day.
Ms Lloyd was born in Geelong and has lived in the area for most of her life, like most of the hospital’s doctors and nurses, she said.
“You could be caring for your next-door neighbour or your friend’s mum. There are so many local connections in a community like this.”
In the past five years oncology patients have increased by 25 per cent while overnight stays have doubled to 500 per year.
Epworth Geelong was the region’s first hospital to carry out neurosurgery, with more than one thousand procedures over the past five years.
The hospital has also experienced a COVID-19 baby boom, with maternity bookings up 25 per cent on 2020.
