Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews and Health Minister for Health Jill Hennessy visited Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre on Friday to announce the centre would receive a grant from the state government’s Regional Health Infrastructure Fund.
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Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centrewill receive $27,000 to help pay for a new operational vehicle.
The bush nursing centre delivers a broad range of community services to the small rural communities of Elmhurst, Warrack, Landsborough, Crowlands, Amphitheatre and beyond.
Mr Andrews said a new and reliable vehicle was vital to ensure the centre’s services are better connected to clients.
“Investments like this make all the difference for small communities like Elmhurst. This will mean more home visits and better care for local patients, and better support for our hard-working nurses,” he said.
Ms Hennessy said and the new vehicle would ensure high quality services could be efficiently delivered, when and where they are most needed, closer to home.
“Our dedicated healthcare workers at Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre do a remarkable job. We’re supporting them to do their job keeping locals healthy by giving them a new vehicle to stay on the road,” she said.
Mr Andrews and Ms Hennessy toured the bush nursing centre on Friday afternoon, observing the patient services and scone baking.
Mr Andrews praised the centre’s work in allowing patients to live independently in their communities.
“I was talking to one of the district nurses, Kerrie, who has been out to see four clients to day and in a simple way, a practical way, those four people are probably able to live i their home because they have the security, and their families have the security, of knowing that the district nurse will out to see them.”
“In a very human way, it’s about love and care and compassion, independence and keeping communities like this strong.”
Mr Andrews said the money had ben provided through a regional-only grant.
“About three years ago, we committed that we would set up a regional health infrastructure fund, just for country hospitals; no metropolitan hospitals could get the money” he said.
“It’s for district nursing centres, its for health services and really big hospitals as well, but more often than not it’s the small hospitals that apply and get the funding that they need.”
“(Ms Hennessy gets the pleasure of going around lots of small country communities with grants, that in the scheme of $70 billion state budget seem small, but they make a massive difference.”
Mr Andrews said the centre was doing “important” and “difficult” work.