© Peter Bennetts
Project description of Kardinia Health by Billard Leece Partnership:
Located on the Princes Highway, near Colac Road, Belmont Kardinia Health is a multidisciplinary, vertically integrated, training clinic co-located with Belmont Community Health Centre and the Community Hall.
This clinic provides the opportunity for Geelong to create a model for primary healthcare and training which incorporates the values of traditional general practice with multidisciplinary, team-based care and an academic research unit in general practice; it responds to changing community needs and the pressing need to train the next generation of primary health care providers.
The clinic will also address the current issues of GP shortages in regional Australia and the increasing demand for training places and provide team based, chronic disease management in an ageing community.
The building is expected to deliver new models of care with a mix of allied health workers and nurses determined by local needs working alongside GPs and GP Registrars. Consulting rooms will be paired to optimise the teaching and learning experience for students.
Other facilities and features of the building include access to a shared pharmacy, pathology collection centre, café and a landscape design that includes external patient seating areas, shade trees and strong connection with the interior.
The design incorporates ecologically sustainable initiatives including rainwater harvesting for irrigation and toilet flushing, bio-swales for stormwater collection, double glazing and natural and cross ventilation.
The building design provides considerable opportunities for future expansion, allowing for an increase in the number of consulting rooms and provision of other services.
PHOTO CREDITS: Peter Bennetts
