Health Services Set for Merger
25 November 2013 at 9:35 am
Three Victorian health services have announced they will be merging to serve about one-third of Melbourne’s geographical area.
Community health agencies Doutta Galla Community Health, Western Region Health Centre and North Yarra Community Health will now move ahead with the process of establishing the merged organisation, including the appointment of a new Board and Chief Executive Officer.
The transfer of services and staff to the new entity will be finalised in 2014.
“We are very pleased to announce that the merger will go ahead,” CEOs Caz Healy, Lyn Morgain and Vera Boston said in a joint statement.
“We have worked hard over the past year to test our contention that this new organisation will deliver benefits for our communities, clients and staff. The due diligence process has demonstrated that these benefits are real and measurable, and that there are no reasons why the new entity should not be successful in every sense.”
The CEOs said the merger represented an exciting opportunity to secure the future of three successful organisations, each with long and proud histories in delivering high-quality local health services to those most vulnerable.
“Uniting three strong, values-based agencies will not only deliver a larger organisation that can compete more effectively for funding, it will also give us the means to be a more influential advocate for accessible and equitable local health services,” they said.
Staff at the three organisations have already started working together on improved services, better internal systems, advocacy for disadvantaged clients and joint applications for funding.
