In the country, when a health service faces a “mini tornado”, the executive team stay overnight until calm is restored.
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While the region burned in the St Patrick’s Day fires on the weekend, Julia Ogdin and her team battened down the hatches to ensure all patients and staff were safe.
As CEO of the Terang and Mortlake Health Service, Ms Ogdin said the 14-bed acute, and 15-bed residential aged care facility, called on all available helpers.
“It was all hands on deck with the numbers we had available to us,” she said. “Extra staff were called in to assist with urgent care and the executive team stayed overnight to offer support.”
The rural health site employs 150 staff members, six who were directly impacted by the fires in the area.
The health service itself suffered extensive building damage from the wind.
“The wind was so severe it tore through the outbuildings,” Ms Ogdin said.
“Our maintenance shed and carports were completely destroyed.”
Ms Ogdin said emergency services had since secured the site and insurance assessors were expected later this week.
