Heyfield Hospital celebrates centenary
- CGH
- Mar 20
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 30
Heyfield Hospital will celebrate 100 years of service to the community with a special event on Sunday 29 March.
The celebration will also mark 30 years of service for Laurina Lodge aged care facility.
Heyfield Hospital Chair, Raelene Hanratty, encouraged people to join in the free celebration of both milestones with a barbecue lunch, tours of the facilities, activities for children and contributions from past and present staff and board members.
“The hospital and aged care facility have a long and proud history of caring for those from Heyfield and surrounding areas,” she said. “It is important we acknowledge the care provided over many years and celebrate what these two facilities mean to us.”
Heyfield Hospital was established in 1934 after a small private hospital on the site closed. The small hospital, built by Sister Hilda Gell, opened in 1924 and closed in 1931. After the closure, a public meeting was held in the town and a syndicate formed with public subscriptions used to finance the opening of the Heyfield Bush Nursing Hospital.
The hospital is owned by the local community and operates under a Management Agreement with Central Gippsland Health Service (CGHS), with oversight by a local/community Board of Directors. The Management Agreement was established in 1999. A Tri-Board Alliance was established in December 2015 to recognise the collaborative partnership between Heyfield Hospital, CGHS and Stretton Park (Maffra) to deliver a comprehensive health and aged care network of services to benefit our communities.
The hospital has since evolved into a private hospital, offering a mixed or private and public beds, funded by CGH, and three Transitional Care Beds (through the Transitional Care Program), subcontracted from Latrobe Regional Hospital.
Heyfield Hospital provides medical services and a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, on-call urgent care service, staffed by local general practitioners, for a catchment area that includes Heyfield, Glenmaggie, Coongulla, Nambrok, Cowwarr and surrounds.
Laurina Lodge was built in 1994 and extended in 2006. The name ‘Laurina’ was chosen as the site was home to a local plant species, Hakea Laurina, which can be seen in a picture at the front entrance.
Co-located with the hospital, it offers transitional, respite and permanent care. Residents also have access to the Heyfield Medical Centre located on-site. Ms Hanratty said small rural hospitals were vital because they offered healthcare to their communities, close to home, providing essential services that would otherwise require travel.
“The celebration will also be an opportunity to thank our staff and volunteers who enable and empower all our residents and patients, and their families, to engage in a lifestyle of their choice.”
The event will be held from 1-3pm. If you need any more information, contact the facility on (03) 5139 7979.
