The Geelong Hospital (previously known as Geelong Hospital 1923-1924; and Geelong and District Hospital 1924-1966)

Full description

A public meeting held at the Theatre Royal, Malop Street, Geelong on Thursday 22 February 1849 was called by the Trustees of the Irish and Scotch Relief Fund, on behalf of the subscribers, to deliberate on the necessary measures required to be taken to build a public hospital in Geelong.

The meeting resolved that a Benevolent Asylum be established in connection with the Hospital. A provisional committee was established to pursue the objectives of the meeting. A Committee of Management was elected at a meeting held on 18 December 1851.

The foundation stone of the Geelong Infirmary and Benevolent Asylum was laid on 1 May 1850. The Hospital opened in 1852, the first patient being admitted on 23 April of that year.

The public hospital in Geelong has had four official names. It was known as the Geelong Infirmary and Benevolent Asylum in the period 1852-1923. The Benevolents were moved to Ballarat in mid-February 1923 and immediately the name Geelong Hospital came into use. Geelong and District Hospital became the official name on 13 March 1924. Finally The Geelong Hospital was gazetted on 12 October 1966.

Some important dates in the history of The Geelong hospital are:
- 1922: Foundation stone laid for new hospital building to be known as Geelong and District Hospital (Kitchener Memorial)
- 1924: New hospital opened and original building demolished
- 1931: First section of Nurses' Home erected
- 1940: Kardinia House, private and intermediate section, opened. In the same year the Josephine Kenny Wing was added to the Nurses' Home.
- 1943: Infectious Diseases Hospital opened. It was later known as Bellarine House and used for general purposes.
- 1950: The Oswald C. Hearne Wing added to Ryrie Street Nurses' Home and No. 2 Home, Myers Street, built
- 1954: Baxter House (Maternity Hospital) opened.
- 1956: Pathology block established
- 1959: New School of Nursing erected
- 1966: Title of hospital changed to The Geelong Hospital
- 1968: Plans for Geelong's third hospital, The Geelong Hospital, a multi-storey building, approved to replace the 1924 Kitchener Memorial
- 1969: First section of the new building commenced
- 1970: First section of the new building, known as the South Wing, completed and opened
- 1973: Affiliation with Monash University for medicalunder-graduate teaching
- 1974: Building of the Roy Birdsey Wing commenced
- 1975: The Roy Birdsey Wing completed with the first patient admitted in March 1976
- 1979: E.C. Dax House, the psychiatric unit, erected
- 1986: The Patricia Heath Wing was opened
- Circa 1998: Baxter House (Maternity Hospital) closed; relocated to developed E.C. Dax House, and renamed the Bellarine Centre
- Circa 1998: E.C. Dax House psychiatric unit moved into redeveloped former Swanston Street Primary School
- 1998: On April 1, Barwon Health was formed as a result of voluntary amalgamation between Geelong Hospital (VA 4805), Grace McKellar Centre (since renamed McKellar Centre) (VA 4806), Surf Coast Community Health Centre, Geelong Community Health Centre, and Corio Community Health Centre.

On 18 October 1974, The Geelong Hospital became the first hospital in Australia to be accredited by the Australian Council on Hospital Standards. The Council, a joint service of the Australian Hospital Association and the Australian Medical Association, was established to implement, inter alia, a national program of hospital accreditation involving surveys by a team of professionals in the health field.