Echuca Regional Health is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the hospital rebuild, opened back in July 2014.
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Stage one of the ERH new hospital was officially opened on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 by then-Premier of Victoria Denis Napthine and then-Victorian Health Minister David Davis.
“The development of Echuca Regional Health is an important project that will deliver 21st century facilities for the local community well into the future,” Dr Napthine said at the time.
“With the completion of stage one, the 40,000 people living in this area now have access to a new 30 bed surgical ward, which also have specific beds for high dependency and cardiac patients, plus a 24 bed sub-acute ward.”
The first patients were transferred from the old wards and admitted on Thursday, July 17, 2014.
Over the past decade, demand for ERH services has surged as the surrounding population has expanded.
This has led to staff numbers nearly doubling from 568 to 1072, emergency department presentations increasing from 17,427 to 28,695, and hospital admissions rising from 8974 to 17,165.
“Ten years ago, our health service experienced a remarkable transformation. We expanded our facilities, incorporating state-of-the-art technology and modern infrastructure to better serve our community,” ERH chief executive Robyn Lindsay said.
“Since then, our staffing numbers have grown substantially, and we've introduced more innovative programs to enhance our capability to support our community to be healthy and live well.
“Ongoing collaboration with the community has been a priority to ensure that our health service grew to meet their needs. The growth signifies our dedication to advancing healthcare and meeting the evolving needs of our community.
“A number of significant positive milestones have occurred over the past 10 years including the building of the Cancer and Wellness Centre, the opening of headspace Echuca, the installation of MRI and the opening of phase 2 of the new hospital that included the Emergency Department and Short Stay Unit, main reception and café.”
Funding for the hospital rebuild was secured through $40 million from the Victorian Government, $13.5 million from the former Council of Australian Governments, and $12.1 million from the Commonwealth Government Health and Hospital Fund, along with community initiatives like the Make Your Mark campaign.
The Make Your Mark campaign garnered more than $3 million in fundraising from the community, with donors’ names still decorating a display at the ERH entrance.
The campaign was started in June 2012 by committee members Des Carey, Carol Worsnop, Alan Whitten, Ingrid Farrant, Dorothy Maughan, Clint Flanigan, Di van der Zypp, Handel Aubrey, chair Neil Thomas and deputy chair Roger Wakefield, with the goal of raising $2.4 million.
“As chair of the Make Your Mark committee, it was my first volunteer community role since retirement. I was amazed and proud of the generosity of the community from the entire region, exceeding our fundraising goal to raise over $2.6 million,” Make Your Mark Committee chair and member of the ERH Fundraising Committee Neil Thomas said.
“It would be remiss of me not to thank my entire Make Your Mark Committee of volunteers including Handel Aubrey, Alan Whitten, Di Van der Zypp, Carol Worsnop, Dorothy Maughan, Des Carey, Ingrid Farrant, Clint Flanigan and Roger Wakefield as well as retired (ERH) chief executive Michael Delahunty, health service executive members along with former public relations officer Deidre Madill as key to the success of the campaign.
“Over the past ten years, I have had reason to use the hospital myself and also for my dad and best mate, who spent 10 days in the palliative care unit. The compassion and morale of the staff matched the first class facilities.
“As a community member, I think we should all be proud of the superior health service and dedicated staff who provide medical care for those in need.
“It was an honour to have served.”
The next decade will also see growth for ERH, with the development of their strategic plan guided by community consultation.
Ms Lindsay is looking forward to the next 10 years and beyond to see how these initiatives and funding is used to better the community.
“To plan for the future ERH has recently completed a new clinical services plan which outlines how our health service will need to continue to grow to meet community needs. The plan has identified a number of opportunities and implementation is well under way,” she said.
“We are also developing a new strategic plan which is being designed with deep and broad consultation.
“We have heard from our community that they value services delivered in a kind and friendly way, that not only cross-border care, but all care pathways, should be seamless and that we should to continue to yarn with our community as we plan for the future.”
Almost $10 million of funding towards the Central Sterile Services Department and Oral Health Unit was announced on-site by Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas in March 2024.
ERH has recently launched the Wanyarra Mulana Cancer Journal, a resource for First Nations cancer patients, which will be piloted before potentially being rolled out statewide.
“Echuca Regional Health is taking the lead on the cancer journal – ensuring this becomes an effective resource to provide safe and supportive treatment and care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians during their cancer journey,” Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said.
Ms Lindsay expressed gratitude to the many ERH teams who have provided health support in the region for 132 years.
“ERH thanks our staff, volunteers and community for their ongoing support and collaboration to continually improve our services, and we look forward to continuing to grow together,” she said.
“We would also like to thank all life governors, board directors, past and present, for their passionate commitment to our health service to support everyone to be healthy and live well.”
Cadet Journalist