In a first for health care in the region, Hunter Medicare Local, Hunter New England Health and Little Company of Mary Health Care (operators of Calvary Mater Newcastle and Calvary aged & community care services) have formed The Hunter Alliance, a brand new partnership allowing the sharing of unique abilities, knowledge and specialist skills of three major health care providers to lead the way in improved health care for people of the region.
Chief Executive Hunter New England Health, Michael DiRienzo, said the partnership is led by a team of specialist senior health clinicians and executives, who, through research of the region's health issues, have identified three prolific areas of health care concern that will become the focus of the alliance
“The new health care initiative will firstly focus attention on, care in the last 12 months of life, care for people with Diabetes and care for people living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (chronic breathing difficulties),” Michael said.
“It provides a unique opportunity to share a vision which will potentially see improved healthcare outcomes for the people of the Hunter New England region.”
Acting CEO Hunter Medical Local Bryan McLoughlin welcomed the new collaboration saying that The Hunter Alliance will work toward new innovations in improved health care into the future in ways that cannot be achieved independently.
“Together, the three healthcare organisations will make a commitment to ongoing collaboration which we believe has the potential to transform thinking on the three identified health care issues for the region,” Bryan said.
“Every day, we share the common goal of keeping people healthy in the communities we serve. Collaboration on how we can work differently is key.”
A commitment to strengthening the existing health care relationship by the development of The Hunter Alliance sees an agreement to work simultaneously to improve the patient care experience and outcomes through quality, access and satisfaction whilst aiming to reduce the cost burden of health care in the region.
Little Company of Mary Health Care Limited National CEO Mark Doran said they believed the partnership will break new ground in its approach to delivering better health outcomes for the region.
“Together we will seek to better understand what is currently working well across the region's health system and what opportunities may exist for improvement,” Mark said.
“Individually, we bring great knowledge in our specific fields of expertise such as end of life and Palliative Care, but collectively we can make a great difference to care in the region and ultimately improve the health of our communities.”
How can the community become involved with 'The Hunter Alliance' initiative?
Following talks with the health and general community, work streams for each priority health care area will be set up to look for ways to better integrate and coordinate health services through clinically-led service development and improvements.
To be involved in the consultation or to share ideas and experiences we are encouraging interested individuals to visit the website and complete the online survey.
