Hundreds of residents from a regional South Australian town have voted in favour of transitioning their hospital into a health hub.
About 220 community members attended the annual general meeting for the Keith and District Hospital Board on Wednesday night.
Almost all voted in favour of the proposed model of care.
Key elements of the model include seven-day urgent care, implementing a community paramedic and nurse practitioner, and upgrading the aged care facility.
Some allied health services will be offered, but acute in-patient beds are unlikely to reopen.
The transition will see the facility move from an independent service into the public sector under the management of the Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN).
The SA government has already committed $5.3 million over four years to the facility.
Almost all in favour
Keith and District Hospital Board chair Peter Brookman said it was a "great" response from the community.
"We had a resounding result," he said.
"Basically the room was full of hands up for 'In favour'.
"We're all very happy that we can move forward to what will be a much more sustainable medical and hospital business."
Mr Brookman said work would now get underway to turn the proposal into a reality with the service to be entirely transitioned by June next year.
"There is a procedure for changing various things to do with the model and go through legislation," he said.
"It'll take several months.
"The current board initially will transition into the HAC, which is the Health Advisory Council.
"The buildings will still be owned by the community, [but] the actual working operation will be managed and run by the Limestone Coast Local Health Network."
Establishing the HAC
Mr Brookman said there would be an opportunity for members of the public to be elected to the Health Advisory Council (HAC).
"We'll certainly have, I think, the greater majority of the HAC as community members," he said.
"[They'll] monitor and inform and look for ideas and bring those to the Limestone Coast Local Health Network and the government for the future.
"We're looking forward to moving on to a new era and sustainable and appropriate health services for Keith and the district."
'Sigh of relief'
Keith community member Sarah Martin said it was a "terrific turnout" at the meeting after years of uncertainty around the hospital's future.
"I think when the vote went through, there was just a collective sigh of relief," she said.
"Like, thank goodness, we're all on the same page, we all agree on this. Everybody is so thrilled that they got it through."
Ms Martin said the board had "worked incredibly hard".
"The board has done a fabulous job of providing a model that is sustainable, both in management, financial and health outcomes," she said.
"To tick all three pillars is unbelievable.
"There's no blueprint of how to do this. There's no model, there's no previous way that other hospitals have managed to be able to do this."
Ms Martin said it would be "enticing" to be part of the new HAC.
"You're not solely responsible for the governance and compliance and management," she said.
"It should be a role that people embrace and enjoy and get a lot of satisfaction from helping the community.
"When you think of children who have accidents, you think of ageing people, you think of anybody with any kind of underlying health issue, we can embrace that diversity and inclusion into our community with safety, knowing that there is support for them."
