Kojonup farmer’s legacy on track to serve town with community medical centre expected to open in February

A Kojonup community medical centre five years in the making is set to open in February, with a Katanning-based medical practice gearing up to expand its services to the Spring Street facility. The project was made possible by George Church, a long-time Kojonup farmer who donated $530,000 for a new medical centre before his death in 2015. A publicly elected community group, the George Church Community Medical Centre, has led a grassroots push to get the project off the ground. The Federal Government last year announced it would provide a $750,000 capital grant for the centre to bolster private donations from the Kojonup community and $140,000 from the Shire of Kojonup. Last week the GCCMC announced it was finalising a service agreement and lease contract with St Luke’s Family Practice to operate from the building for the next three years. St Luke’s operates from Kojonup four days a week, from a practice on Kojonup-Katanning Road. Under the agreement, St Luke’s would offer services in the centre from Monday-Thursday, and would work to recruit more doctors and allied health professionals to fill the centre. At the November Shire of Kojonup council meeting, councillors voted to consider the disposal options for St Luke’s current lease, including self-supporting loan considerations, before March 16. GCCMC Inc chairman Robert Sexton said the group would support St Luke’s in bringing more doctors to Kojonup. It would also continue to seek funding from the Shire of Kojonup to house a new GP. “St Luke’s have made public announcements that they will operate four days a week from the premises, probably with two doctors for three of those days,” he said. “Because both of us have committed to having two doctors there five days a week, that is our long-term plan.” Mr Sexton said the GCCMC would recruit to fill the vacant allied health positions at the new centre, which included separate physiotherapy and counselling rooms. The GCCMC is in the final stages of furnishing the building, which will feature medical facilities, a 20-patient waiting room, four GP consulting rooms, a conference room, and separate allied health rooms. Mr Sexton said help from the community had been vital in getting the service up and running in February. “This is an essential place,” he said. “We’ve never had a medical service where GPs can operate from that you could say the community owns. “The community have been incredibly supportive and generous in raising money and giving expert advice and help. “It is very typical of a country town where you need to get something done they put their shoulder to the wheel very willingly and extremely expertly.”