The Shoalhaven Community Preschool has been rebuilt and relocated as part of the
Shoalhaven Hospital redevelopment to continue servicing young families in the local community.
Officially opened by NSW Health Minister Ryan Park and the Member for South Coast Liza Butler, the new purpose-built early education centre was relocated only minutes down the road to remain easily accessible for local families and hospital staff.
The preschool provides up to 60 places for the youngest members of the community, and its completion marks an important step in the expansion of the Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital.
The relocation of the preschool allows the old preschool to be demolished to enable further construction work on the hospital campus. The Shoalhaven Hospital Redevelopment is in full swing, with work on the new 7-storey acute clinical services building now underway.
The redevelopment will deliver first-class healthcare for the Illawarra Shoalhaven region close to home, so that fewer patients will need to be transferred to hospitals in Wollongong and Sydney.
The redevelopment includes:
- a new emergency department with an emergency short-stay unit to improve the flow of patients and reduce waiting times;
- a new state-of-the-art intensive care unit;
- double the number of operating theatres and endoscopy rooms;
- a dedicated cardiology inpatient unit; coronary care unit and catheterisation laboratory;
- a new vascular surgery service and expanded orthopaedic, general surgery and urology services;
- overnight surgical unit and a dedicated day surgery unit;
- new medical wards for specialities including gastroenterology, respiratory, oncology, endocrinology and general medicine;
- a new acute mental health unit;
- a psychiatric emergency care centre;
- an expanded acute stroke unit;
- a new nuclear medicine department;
- expanded medical imaging;
- dedicated acute aged care ward;
- a sub-acute geriatric evaluation and management service;
- a dedicated palliative care facility;
- a new paediatric assessment unit;
- a specialist rehabilitation unit;
- expanded outpatient departments;
- a new rooftop helipad providing direct access to the ED and ICU.
The existing hospital will be refurbished following completion of the new building.