Great Ocean Road Health turns one

YESTERDAY (Wednesday, July 1) marked the first anniversary of Great Ocean Road Health’s (GORH) formation.

The healthcare provider was officially formed with the amalgamation of Lorne Community Hospital and Otway Health.

It has been an eventful first year for GORH, having to not only deal with coronavirus but also a cyber-attack on October 1, 2019, that affected hospitals statewide.

GORH chief executive officer Sandy Chamberlin said these challenges had highlighted the importance of the merger.

“We are ‘Great Ocean Road Health’, we are better together and this has been evident throughout the pandemic.

“The major benefits of the amalgamation has been building a sustainable workforce, financial sustainability and a platform for growth.”

Lorne Community Hospital and Otway Health had been collaborating to an increasing extent for about two years before the official merger.

Since they became one entity, GORH has looked to place a greater emphasis on mindfulness and resilience focus, including the creation of a staff wellness Facebook page with activities such as meditation, yoga, and exercise programs.

Similarly, a public exercise, health and wellbeing page has also been set up to be able to continue to provide group activities in COVID-19 times, which has been well received by the community.

Ms Chamberlin said there were several new services GORH would look to roll out in the coming months.

“Further use of telehealth, in all areas, access to specialists, continuation of allied health group activities on line, access to better medical imaging equipment and training and the list goes on.

“We are very excited about what the future holds for Great Ocean Road Health.”