A new facility for student healthcare workers is expected to create a new education hub in central Victoria.
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After months of planning and excitement, Maryborough District Health Service (MDHS) has finally been able to open its anticipated student accommodation.
The team hopes these facilities will allow the hospital to welcome more healthcare students to train, and maybe even lead to future employment in the region.
Service chief executive Nikola Allan said after a soft opening earlier in the year, 17 of the beds had already been booked.
"It's exciting to see it all finished and be able to walk through and know it's all done," she said.
"We're looking forward to having people from all over the state and even further to travel and make use of our beautiful new facilities.
"We've been able to take on more staff to keep the building clean and it will also be a space our current staff may be able to utilise when they need to stay for their shifts.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Ripon MP Martha Haylett visited the site on Friday to officially open the new 20-bed student accommodation hub.
The new accommodation will provide a comfortable and convenient place for medical, nursing and allied health students to stay during training and work placements.
The facility features 20 single bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, along with communal living, kitchen, dining areas and landscaped gardens.
"This new student accommodation hub will ensure our future healthcare workers have can learn and thrive at Maryborough and District Hospital," Mr Andrews said.
Complementing state-of-the-art training facilities and education programs already available in Maryborough, the new accommodation will help attract more undergraduate and postgraduate students to kick start their careers in the healthcare sector.
The project was funded through the Labor Governments $790 million Regional Health Infrastructure Fund (RHIF) and delivered by the Maryborough District Health Service in partnership with the Victorian Health Building Authority (VHBA).
The new student accommodation builds on the state government's investment of $100 million in the 2021/22 State Budget to redevelop and expand the Maryborough hospital.
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This project will deliver a new urgent care centre, a 32-bed inpatient/birthing unit, two operating theatres, recovery spaces, a medical centre with imaging and pathology services.
"We're in the process of finding a builder and seeing what comes next," Ms Allan said.
"It's an exciting next step for us and we're so glad it's getting underway."
Early works are now underway with the project on track to be completed by late 2024.
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