IWC stage two includes innovations

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Stage two of the Indigenous Wellbeing Centre (IWC) has innovative inclusions and proposes to offer afterhours services.
Stage two of the Indigenous Wellbeing Centre (IWC) has innovative inclusions and proposes to offer after-hours services.

The $19.8 million stage two expansion of the Indigenous Wellbeing Centre (ICW) will increase the range of services currently offered by IWC to the whole community, including more Allied Health professionals and specialists.

IWC general manager Wayne Mulvany said the stage two development also incorporated major innovations that would assist the community in times of disaster or contagious outbreak.

The innovations include a 350kva generator with a six-cylinder diesel engine, valued at more than $250,000 that will keep the section of the purpose-built health and wellbeing facility going when the power is off.

IWC general manager Wayne Mulvany says the stage two facilities will be a “major boon for our community”.

The second is a pair of isolation suites to be used in the event of a major outbreak in the region requiring patients to be separated from mainstream medical and health operations.

“The generator is powerful enough to ensure that, once the stage two expansion of the complex is completed, we can keep going in a disaster situation,” Mr Mulvany said.

“In the past two major floods, in 2010-11 and 2013, and during other cyclonic episodes including tornadoes and storms, medical facilities across the Bundaberg Region were forced to close their doors.

“With this generator, the IWC Health and Wellbeing Complex will be able to provide a facility that can maintain primary health care services to our community.”

Mr Mulvany said IWC saw the facilities as a “major boon for our community” and that it would not only benefit their staff but other medical and health professionals who would be invited to use the facilities in times of emergency.

“Since the 2013 floods, Bundaberg Region now has the Multiplex facility to provide shelter for people in the event of forced evacuation from their homes.

“IWC is proud to be able to offer this facility as an ancillary to that evacuation centre – this can be the community care and medical hub that will be needed in a time of emergency.”

He said the isolation suites in stage two would be another important addition to the region, and support containment of managing contagious situations.

“Because this is purpose-built as a clinical facility, we have been able to incorporate this capacity into the design,” he said.

IWC is an Aboriginal community-controlled, multi-accredited and award-winning health and wellbeing organisation that provides services to all people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

It started operations in 2002 and in 2014 opened stage one of the IWC Health and Wellbeing Complex.

1 COMMENT

  1. Is this medical centre taking on new patients? Both my husband and I (we are late 70’s) would like to have this as our medical centre, it is conveniently near our home.

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