With over 42 years of proud history, Healthcare Australia (HCA) is Australia’s leading provider of recruitment, staffing and HR solutions to Australia’s healthcare industry.

HCA has grown into a $200 million business, operating with 260 staff and employing over 7,000 healthcare professionals. Each day across Australia, HCA sends 1200 nurses, over 100 allied staff and 350 doctors to work, touching the lives of over 35,000 Australians.

The ageing population and the rise of healthcare costs have led to a myriad of jobs for healthcare professionals in both regional and metro areas. The healthcare industry is booming and has become Australia’s largest employer, with one in eight people working in this sector and it shows no sign of slowing down. Right now nearly 1.2 million Australians working in the health and social care sector. On current rates of growth, it is expected that one in seven will be in this sector before the end of the decade.

With 10 offices across Australia, HCA CEO Jason Cartwright was eager to ensure Geelong was HCA’s first office outside of the capital city. Jason, a born and bred local Geelong boy, is delighted to bring the HCA footprint to Geelong to help create jobs and opportunities for the local community. With three major expansions taking place there are exciting times ahead for Geelong’s healthcare industry.

The newly completed St John of God Health Care, which features 64 new beds, an accident and emergency facility as well as a state of the art rehabilitation service, will deliver significant benefits to the communities of Geelong and South West Victoria. The $56.3 million project- Which is part of the hospitals five year master plan is the most exciting project ever undertaken by the Geelong health care provider.

Also in the pipeline is the development of an urgent care center at Barwon Health. A service plan, prepared by the department of Health in conjunctions with Barwon Health has identified Geelongs northern suburbs as an area of high health service need. Currently around a third of non urgent Category 4 and 5 patients who attend Geelongs emergency department are from the northern suburbs.

The care center will provide local access to expanded services and minimise avoidable emergency department presentations and admissions at Geelong Hospital. The services at the existing Corio Community Health Centre will be incorporated into Barwon Health North in order to provide a wide suite of services.

Lastly, a new comprehensive acute and rehabilitation private hospital- Epworth Hospital will open in mid 2016 and will integrate clinical practice with teaching and research. It will provide an emergency department, inpatient beds, surgery, medical consulting suites, rehabilitation facility, a complex care unit, a maternity ward and a clinical education and simulations precinct.

As contracted supplier to all these providers, Jason Cartwright is very keen to tap into the local talent. As a market leader, HCA has an unparalleled ability to match talent with opportunities and with these exciting development taking place, the future of the local healthcare industry is looking bright.

(Article publishedby Geelong Business News)