Building the
health and
education
economy
A
lready the largest employer
on the Sunshine Coast,
the health sector is set
to rise even higher with the
opening of the Sunshine Coast
Public University Hospital, and
opportunities for employment and
education will rise with it.
So much so that Sunshine Coast
Mayor Mark Jamieson predicts,
“Education will be the region’s
second-biggest industry after
health, and it is an integral part
of the regional plan.”
Located on four hectares in Kawana, the
Sunshine Coast Public University Hospital
will open in 2016. Kevin Hegarty, CE of the
new hospital, emphasises how the hospital
will fundamentally change health care
delivery in the region.
6
“Services such as neurosurgery, cardiac
surgery and a major trauma service,
together with expanded cancer treatment
will see around 10,000 people, who currently
access these and other services
in Brisbane, being able to access
them locally,” he says.
The hospital will open with approximately
450 beds and grow to a built capacity of
750 beds by 2020/21. The hospital and
its health services will employ more than
5,000 staff by the time it opens and this
is expected to increase to over 7,400 by
2021 as full capacity is reached.
As Mr Hegarty points out, “The partnership
between the Hospital and Health Service
and University of the Sunshine Coast is
long standing. Both organisations are
committed to working together to
maximise the growth and quality of
health resources and capabili