Geelong Hospital 5.62

The University Hospital Geelong is an Australian public hospital located in Ryrie Street, Geelong, Victoria. The hospital is part of Barwon Health, Victoria's largest regional health care provider, which has 21 sites. It is the largest hospital in regional Victoria and the only tertiary hospital outside of the Melbourne Metropolitan area. The site is bounded by Ryrie, Bellarine, Myers, and Swanston Streets.HistoryOriginally opened as the Geelong Infirmary and Benevolent Asylum in 1852 on the Ryrie Street site, it treated 344 inpatients in its first year. By 1862 the number of patients treated had increased to 2450. By the 1890s the buildings were deeded obsolete, with proposals being made for the hospital's relocation to Eastern Park. This was blocked by the city council who objected to the loss of parkland.By 1917 a public meeting was held calling for a new hospital, to be dedicated to the memory of Lord Kitchener. A building fund was set up, and work started in October 1922. The Geelong and District Kitchener Memorial Hospital as it was known opened on March 13, 1924. The original building consisted of a central administration block which remained until 2007, with wards branching off to each side. From 1927 the Gala Day festival in Geelong helped raise money for the hospital.Further additions to the buildings included the boiler house on Swanston Street, the Kardinia Ward along Bellarine Street in the 1920s, and the Baxter House maternity hospital in 1954 (now the Geelong Private Hospital).