Mayo Private Hospital has celebrated 100 years with a gathering of past and present doctors, nurses and staff that have dedicated their expertise to caring for our community.
In 1920 two doctors, Dr Stokes and Dr Muscio had a dream and a vision for health care in the Manning Valley. They purchased a block of land on the corner of Winter and Manning Streets in Taree and within two years had an eight-bed hospital. Demand for beds meant the hospital grew and by the 1940s it had 21 beds.
The hospital's first nurse, Laura Nixon, assisted the care of the patients in a brick building the size of a house with a long veranda out the back, which was situated where Hungry Jacks stands today.
With the population growth of the area and the need for a larger hospital, the hospital was moved from town to its current location on Potoroo Drive. The hospital had doubled in size by this time.
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In 2012, private health care group, Healthe Care purchased the hospital and invested $10m into the refurbishment and expansion.
The hospital is now a 79-bed facility, including mental health, acute medical, rehabilitation, surgery and four theatres including a Cardiac Cath Lab.
"We recognise the importance of providing a variety of quality specialist services to the Manning Valley and greater areas and we are proud that we will be able to expand Mayo Private Hospital again in the next few years to approximately 140 bed with better parking, new and improved theatre space, increase in renal chairs and services as well as mental health beds and services, a larger specialist centre and a rehabilitation wing," a spokesperson from Healthe Care said.
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"We honoured our past and present medical faculty with a welcome to country from Uncle Will Paulson and Aunty Pam Paulson.
"The talented children from Taree High School performed a beautiful dance while Ben Steward led the smoking ceremony for health.
"With the new installation of our three flagpoles, Mayo Private Hospital now proudly displays our three flags - Indigenous, Torres Strait Islander and Australian.
"We were honoured to have our regional CEO Deanne Portelli, Indigenous elders of Biripi and Worimi communities and head of operations from Healthe Care, Matt Kelly fly the flags high, despite the rain!" the spokesperson said.
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