The leading lights of Australia’s healthcare sector are in Hervey Bay this week to observe the state-of-the-art equipment and practices in operation at St Stephen’s Hospital.
Clinicians, researchers, IT experts and executives from some of the country’s foremost institutions, both government and private sector, have leapt at the chance to personally examine Australia’s first fully-integrated digital hospital.
St Stephen’s is an initiative of UnitingCare Health, one of Australia’s leading not-for-profit community healthcare providers, with technologies provided by Cerner, the foremost international developer of digital healthcare solutions.
UnitingCare Health’s Executive Director Richard Royle will host delegates from more than 30 organisations, including the Queensland, New South Wales and Commonwealth Departments of Health, Monash University, the CSIRO, and an A-list of Australia’s public and private hospitals.
Mr Royle and senior staff from St Stephen’s, UnitingCare Health and Cerner are providing technical briefings, hands-on demonstrations and site tours of the hospital this week.
“St Stephen’s offers delegates a unique and valuable opportunity to view the latest healthcare technologies, practices and processes in operation, and see how they co-operate in an integrated network,” Mr Royle said.
“Many hospitals have trialled or implemented partial digital solutions, but ours is the first hospital to completely computerise and integrate our entire operation.
“This, therefore, is a unique learning opportunity for delegates, and an example of how St Stephen’s will play a leading role in transforming healthcare in this country.”
The Federal Government provided $47 million towards the $96 million hospital, underlining the national significance of this regional facility. St Stephen’s will be officially opened by The Hon. Peter Dutton, MP, Federal Minister for Health and Minister for Sport, on 8 December.