Ash Bolt
More critically ill people from Geelong and the south-west of Victoria will be able to get the treatment they need following the expansion of Epworth Geelong’s intensive care unit.
The hospital’s intensive care unit has expanded from nine rooms to 12, increasing the capacity to treat patients recovering from major surgery or serious illness.
The $108,000 upgrade was possible following a $2.5 million donation by La Trobe Financial Charitable Foundation to the Epworth group.
The donation will also allow the Geelong hospital to purchase $51,000 worth of patient monitors to improve bedside patient care.
Epworth HealthCare group chief executive Dr Lachlan Henderson said the donation would have enormous benefit to patients who were waiting for much-needed elective surgery.
“As we emerge from the Omicron wave, we know there is a large number of patients who require surgery that was delayed over the last two years due to the pandemic,” he said.
“Surgical waiting lists are significant and we will be incredibly busy treating a large number of patients.”
Dr Henderson said it was the second significant donation Epworth had received from the foundation during the pandemic, after previously receiving $1 million to purchase PPE.
La Trobe Financial president and chief executive Greg O’Neill said there needed to be more support for healthcare providers as the community recovered from the pandemic.
“We are simply in awe of all the healthcare workers across Australia and the manner in which they have conducted themselves and placed themselves often at risk to save lives of others,” he said.
“This is one small way we can thank them for that untiring service and outstanding professionalism which will benefit Epworth patients for years to come.”
The intensive care unit at Epworth Geelong had previously expanded to nine beds at the start of the pandemic to treat private and public patients through philanthropic donations.
