Murray Now

Albury Wodonga Health (AWH) is unique. Established ion the 1st July 2009, it is the first cross border public health service to ever exist in Australia.

Under an inter-governmental public health service between NSW and Victorian governments, the Albury Base hospital and Wodonga Regional Health Service merged to create one of the largest regional public health services between Sydney and Melbourne.

Albury Wodonga Health has an estimated total budget in the order of $140m and a workforce exceeding 1500 employees, the second largest in Albury Wodonga. Combined, AWH expects to admit and discharge over 30,000 patients and support over 60,000 emergency department attendances over the next 12 months.

Integration of Albury and Wodonga’s public health services has long been seen as a logical step to achieving a number of benefits for the residents of the Murray region, including: • an improved model of healthcare;

• ready access to one of the largest health services between Sydney and Melbourne;

• improved continuity of care and more equitable access to service types for the whole community regardless of their residential location;

• more effective health service delivery;

• better training opportunities for clinical staff;

• greater recognition and visibility of the combined health service, leading to improved recruitment and retention of the health workforce;

• greater “critical mass” assisting in attracting a greater range of specialist services to the region; and

• provision of a strong foundation for service growth to match population growth in the region.

AWH provides a comprehensive and growing range of health services spanning the primary, sub-acute and acute needs of regional residents. Some services, such as emergency, are offered at both the Wodonga and Albury hospital locations. Others are concentrated at a single AWH location to optimise the delivery of specialist care. For example, the Wodonga Hospital specialises in obstetrics. The Albury Hospital delivers the organisation’s orthopaedic and intensive care services. With its significant increase in size, the future is expected to see the health services provided to the Murray region by AWH exponentially expand. The organisation is already planning new initiatives to improve cancer and cardiology services. Dr Stuart Spring, the CEO of AWH, perhaps best summarised the future of AWH when he said “Albury Wodonga Health will be at the cutting edge of regional health service delivery”.

AWH is also part of the community it serves. As a Victorian Public Health Service, it is governed by a Board of Directors drawn from across the Murray regional community. The Board places a priority on ensuring the community is fully engaged and consulted. The importance of the community to AWH is reinforced by the words of the current Chairman of the AWH Board, Mr Ulf Ericson. “The interests of our local community are the foremost consideration of every decision the board takes.