Guest Speaker, Chief executive officer of the Albury Wodonga Private Hospitals, Doug McRae, presented us with an interesting and informative overview of both hospitals and the supporting Ramsay Foundation established by the late Paul Ramsay. Albury Wodonga Private Hospitals
are one of 151 Hospitals in the world operated by the Ramsay Group, the fifth largest health care provider in the world ! Doug moved to Albury-Wodonga from Coffs Harbour on the NSW mid-north coast, where he was the commercial manager for Ramsay Health Care Baringa Private Hospital.  In relation to the Murray Valley Private in Wodonga rehabilitation is an area that he would like to see grow here … to date the focus has been on oncology, however, he would like to see the focus as much on rehabilitation with a growth to possibly twice what it is now, which will be made possible with the relocation of many services to the new Cancer Centre being built in Albury due to open late in 2015. Albury Wodonga Private Hospitals employ 300 people and have 10.000 admissions annually … Doug outlined the wide range of specialist services available to the region … he mentioned competition was healthy between providers locally and indicated it is still a challenge to encourage doctors/specialists to practice in a regional area. An intake of graduate nursing staff is encouraged. There is also a sound co-operation between public and private hospitals in the border region. In answering a number of questions from members Doug mentioned that superseded equipment from the hospitals is donated to overseas requirements, often through Rotary contacts. Before his move into the health sector, Doug was the general manager of a Coffs Harbour-based construction company, the financial controller of Lindsay Brothers Transport and he has also worked as a financial manager with three New Zealand companies.