Planning starts on new heart hub
The Victorian Government has put up $15 million to get the ball rolling on a $350 million specialised heart hospital at Monash University.
The Victorian Heart Hospital will contain 195 beds, an emergency department and a training facility for heart specialists, while also acting as a research hub to find next-generation treatments and cures.
State Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the Government will contribute $150 million all up, with the remaining funds to come from the private sector and donations.
“For Australia, the Victorian Heart Hospital will be the centre of excellence and expertise when it comes to research and prevention and treatment,” Ms Hennessy said on the weekend.
“We're going to work both with the philanthropic community, with the private sector and obviously with universities, other hospitals and other research institutes to ensure we're able to access the funds.
“We've seen a great deal of attention in the cancer space, and rightly so.
“But we have not yet pulled together a model of care targeted at cardiac disease, prevention, education and research.
“What we're going to do with the Victorian Heart Hospital is bring all of those people together and see if we can take the next important step in finding better cures, better treating patients, but most importantly working out what more can be done to prevent heart disease.”