St John of God Berwick Hospital announces construction of new hospital
26 May 2015
While still subject to a number of conditions, the new St John of God Berwick Hospital is expected to open in July 2017 opposite Monash Health’s Casey Hospital, making the area a major health precinct in Melbourne.
St John of God Berwick Hospital and Generation Healthcare REIT have announced they have reached agreement to build a new $120 million hospital development on Kangan Drive in Berwick
The hospital will be jointly owned by St John of God Health Care and GHC.
In addition to the $120 million hospital building itself, St John of God Health Care will be investing in new state of the art equipment, furnishings, commissioning the new facilities, plus undertaking a significant upgrade of the facilities in Gibb Street (the hospital's current location) - bringing the total project forecast cost to $150 million.
All existing services provided by St John of God Health Care at its historic Gibb Street site will be relocated to the new hospital and a significantly expanded number and range of services will be available, taking local health services in the area to a new level.
Making the announcement, St John of God Berwick CEO Lisa Norman said it was an important milestone for the communities of Casey and Cardinia which form one of the most rapidly growing regions in Australia.
“The new St John of God Berwick Hospital development will allow us to meet the growing health care demands of a rapidly expanding region,” she said.
“It will provide more than 190 new beds, six operating theatres, two endoscopy theatres, a cardiac/vascular catheter laboratory, six birthing suites and approximately 350 basement car parks.
“It will also provide the first Intensive Care Unit for the region and a comprehensive range of cardiac services, including a dedicated cardiac unit.
”We recently opened a new day oncology unit on the new Kangan Drive site and the new hospital will offer additional cancer services and complete our vision to provide a complete range of oncology care to improve cancer survival through improved diagnosis and treatment options to the people of this community.”
Other St John of God Health Care services such as St John of God Pathology and St John of God Health Choices, a home nursing service, will also be expanded.
Ms. Norman said the decision to proceed with the development after several months exploring the feasibility of the development coincided with the celebration of the hospital’s 75th anniversary.
“Our roots are deep in the community and as the region continues to grow and expand, it’s fitting that we should look to the future and make sure we meet its changing needs at the same time as we celebrate our heritage,” she said.
The new hospital will be designed to be open and accessible, with a warm and welcoming front foyer enabling access to all areas of the hospital, and a cafe, pharmacy and a volunteer desk to assist people to find their way. A Chapel located at the rear of the foyer will provide a designated space for spiritual wellbeing.
The new hospital development forms part of a three stage project. Stage one was recently completed, with the opening in February of a $20.4million specialist centre at the site, including a day oncology clinic operated by St John of God Berwick Hospital.
Future plans have been developed for a third building that will take the site capacity to 316 beds and 12 Operating theatres.
Ms. Norman said the existing historic and much loved Gibb Street site will undergo redevelopment to enable it to provide a new range of services, including rehabilitation with a dedicated outpatient rehabilitation centre.
“The Gibb Street facility is where caring for the community began in 1939,” she said. “Two hospitals providing a comprehensive range of services will allow us to continue to deliver exceptional care to a larger number of patients with a broader range of health conditions.”
St John of God Berwick Hospital currently employs more than 400 staff and a further 200 jobs are expected to be created. Currently, nearly 400 visiting doctors cover a wide range of medical and surgical disciplines, and an additional 100 are expected to be required to administer the new and expanded services. Ms Norman said the additional jobs would be a positive opportunity for people living in Casey and Cardinia to work for a “Values based” organisation close to home.
The construction is still subject to a number of final approvals including town planning plus successful completion of the building tender process with construction expected to commence prior to the end of the 2015 calendar year.