Cutting the ribbon: Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas, right, officially opens Echuca Regional Health’s Cancer and Wellness Centre alongside ERH board chair Larna Tarrant.
Photo by
Shannon Colee
A moment years in the making arrived in June.
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Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas visited the border to officially open Echuca Regional Health’s state-of-the-art Cancer and Wellness Centre.
“This new facility is absolutely world-class. It’s so important that people and rural Victoria have access to the very best care,” Ms Thomas said.
“What this delivers is quality cancer care close to home for the people of Echuca, Moama and surrounding communities.”
The new centre is designed to take a holistic approach to treatment and will include not just chemotherapy and dialysis options but also, eventually, wellness programs designed to help the body and spirit of the patient.
The centre, which is expected to help more than 1200 patients each year, has 12 chemotherapy/haemodialysis chairs and specialist consulting rooms.
Prior to speaking at the opening, Ms Thomas was given a private tour of the facility, where she was given the chance to see the new amenities and speak with current patients.
Ms Thomas said it was “really important” that people could access local treatments near family and friends.
“While people are receiving cancer treatment they are also trying to get on with their lives and live their life to the fullest,” she said.
Ms Thomas said that during Reconciliation Week, it was important to reflect on the complicated history First Nations Australians have with the hospital system and implement more ways to increase treatment levels among the community.
“Let’s remember ... health services were not perceived as safe places by Aboriginal people because the stories in families were that’s where your children were taken away,” she said.
Pleased: Echuca Regional Health board chair Larna Tarrant.
Photo by
Shannon Colee
ERH board chair Larna Tarrant announced that the centre would also have a First Nations name, to be officially released at a later date.
The Victorian Government has invested $6 million in the centre, with ERH raising a further $1.3 million with the support of the community.
New era: The exterior of the Echuca Cancer and Wellness Centre.
And that support has continued since the centre’s doors opened.
Longtime land developers Ray Perry and Chris Chadwick, together with their families, have donated a parcel of land at The Range in Moama as a generous gift that will see 100 per cent of the sale price going directly to the ERH Cancer and Wellness Centre.
The land, located at 20 Currawong Crt in Moama, will be auctioned on Saturday, January 27, at 11am by Charles L. King & Co, and co-director and auctioneer Troy O’Brien said this heartfelt contribution by the Perry and Chadwick families represented a cause close to many people’s hearts.
“This charitable act is a great example of generosity and community spirit, and we are looking forward to seeing this 841sqm block of land sold, with all profits from the sale going directly to the Echuca Regional Health Cancer and Wellness Centre,” Mr O’Brien said.
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