ST STEPHEN’S Hervey Bay Hospital welcomed some of its first recruits on Monday (15 September) when 20 nursing staff began orientation at the $96 million facility.
A total of 47 new positions have been created at the new hospital – 36 clinical and 11 non-clinical.
The orientation session for the 20 new staff is the latest milestone for Australia’s first fully-integrated digital hospital in a regional area, which will welcome its first patients on Monday 13 October.
It also demonstrates the ongoing commitment of UnitingCare Health, parent organisation to St Stephen’s Hospital, to invest and support the Fraser Coast region.
General Manager of St Stephen’s Hospital, Deb Boyd, said the new starters signalled another exciting milestone for the new 96-bed hospital and the wider community.
“It’s fantastic to see some new faces joining our magnificent St Stephen’s Hospital team and witnessing their shared commitment to helping patients and their families,” she said.
“The new facilities at the hospital are world-class and, together with our wonderful team of healthcare professionals and support staff, are key to us providing the highest level of care to our patients and the community.
“We are lucky to already have a highly skilled, experienced and motivated team here at St Stephen’s and our new colleagues will assist us to deliver high-quality patient care to an even greater number of people.”
UnitingCare Health’s Executive Director, Richard Royle, says the organisation is committed to providing the best healthcare services to the Fraser Coast region, and also supporting the local economy.
“We are proud of our long standing support of the Fraser Coast community.
“Not only have we invested $49million in the construction of the new St Stephen’s Hervey Bay Hospital, in the last 10 years we have invested a total of $73 million in wages and $120 million on infrastructure and the delivery of services at St Stephen’s.
“Our investment and support, therefore, is not a short-term commitment. As we have demonstrated over the years, we are proud to be part of the Fraser Coast Community and we will continue to support the local community through providing world-class healthcare, investing in services, creating jobs, and utilising local suppliers, where possible.”
Stage one of the St Stephen’s Hervey Bay Hospital includes 96 inpatient beds. This will increase to 180 beds in two further stages.
The hospital will provide vital medical and surgical services and an unparalleled model of patient care, bringing a wide range of benefits to the region.
Facilities will also include:
- High Dependency Unit on each of the three floors
- Five theatres
- Two nurse stations on each of the three levels
- A bariatric room on each level
- Private patient rooms.
UnitingCare Health (UCH) is a service group of UnitingCare Queensland, owned by the Uniting Church.
In addition to UCH, other service groups of UnitingCare Queensland include UnitingCare Community and Blue Care and together they provide health and community services to over 14,000 people daily, and work with approximately 25,000 staff and volunteers.
Across Flynn, Hinkler and the Wide Bay areas, UnitingCare Community, which provides community services to vulnerable and disadvantaged people, and Blue Care, which supports older people and people living with a disability, provide services from 85 locations.
These include aged care facilities, Lifeline shops, counselling programs, youth services, family support programs, community care and respite care.