Deakin University welcomes Federal Government funding for new medical facilities in Geelong

Deakin University today welcomed the announcement of $5million Federal Government funding for new Epworth HealthCare/Deakin medical training and research facilities in Geelong.

"Today's announcement by Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, is a much welcomed investment in the growing medical training and research programs in Geelong," Deakin Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jane den Hollander said.

"Our vision at Deakin is to build a world-class health precinct at the Geelong Campus at Waurn Ponds that will open up health and economic benefits for regional Victoria. Today's funding announcement is a very positive step in realising this vision."

Professor den Hollander said that Deakin was well on the way to achieving its goal through its medical, nursing and allied health programs with the upcoming addition of REACH (Deakin Regional Community Health Hub) - a new teaching and research facility at Waurn Ponds.

"REACH is a new $47million, state-of-the-art teaching and research facility to be built adjacent to the School of Medicine. It is an exciting development for Deakin and the Geelong region and will complement the facilities announced today," she said.

"Both facilities will provide further opportunities to expand our health and medical related courses, including a new optometry course to commence in 2012.

"All we need now is a teaching hospital that would open up opportunities for further medical training and research in Geelong and provide excellent provision of health care choice for the region. The discussions we are having with Epworth HealthCare are encouraging and we are excited about the prospects this could bring to the region."