Evolution has been a fact of life during South Eastern Private Hospital’s 50-year history.
The Noble Park-based hospital is set to celebrate the milestone with an $11 million upgrade that is nearing completion.
The make-over includes renovations to the main entry, façade and car park.
More inpatient beds, a larger oncology unit and rehabilitation gym, a new café, lifts and landscaping are also part of the project.
Chief executive Andrew Blyth said the 192-bed hospital had evolved since being opened by Health Minister JF Rossiter in 1971.
“Over the past 50 years we’ve transitioned from maternity and surgical services to focus on increasing priority areas for the local community such as rehabilitation, oncology, palliative care and mental health.”
Starting as a medical hospital, it soon added maternity services, an emergency department and surgical theatres.
In 1985, South Eastern Private became the first fully accredited category one private hospital in the East.
Healthe Care Australia acquired the hospital in 2006 – and made changes in line with community needs, Mr Blyth said.
It replaced maternity and surgical services with a “world-class” rehabilitation centre that included a hydrotherapy pool and purpose-built rehabilitation gymnasiums.
In 2016, the hospital built a 60-bed mental health unit. Its inpatient services included mood disorders such as depressions and anxiety, addiction, trauma, PTSD and neurostimulation.
This year, the hospital opened the redeveloped Day Oncology Unit, which provides holistic care for cancer patients.
The unit increased its capacity for day chemotherapy treatments by about 30 per cent – equating to about 700 chemotherapy visits a month.
Today, the hospital offers 164 in-patient beds across general medical, oncology, palliative care, psychiatry and rehabilitation services.
It also has 18 oncology chairs and additional beds for electroconvulsive therapy, Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, and recovery.
Mr Blyth said caring for Covid-19 patients had presented “one of our greatest challenges”.
“Navigating this uncharted territory has provided our staff with many challenges but they have continued to rise to each occasion, determined to find solutions while maintaining staff and patient safety.”
One of the hospital’s longest-standing staff Lisa Keppel has worked various roles for more than 30 years.
“The hospital has changed significantly … but the thing that I have always loved about the hospital is the staff.
“We all truly care about each other and it is a pleasure to come to work.”
Originally employed as a typist, Ms Keppel became an executive assistant for the Director of Nursing.
For the past 20-plus years, she has worked as the hospital’s overall executive assistant.
“I still love it. I also had all of my children here when the hospital offered maternity services.”
