The Swan Hill community will soon be able to have all their health insurance enquiries answered in person at the local Mildura Health Fund (MHF) branch five days per week, as for the first time on January 8, the branch moves to full-time hours.

The branch opened its doors in 2017, operating one day per week from Priceline Pharmacy, before increasing to two days the following year and then relocating to its current location at 28a McCrae Street.

“When we first opened the Swan Hill branch, we set a target to operate a full-time office within five years, it has now been six years,” Mildura Health CEO Gerard Op de Coul said.

“While it is a little later than originally planned, we got there in the end, and this is a reward to our highly loyal Swan Hill members.

“The local members really value the face-to-face service we offer and over the years have encouraged us to move to a five day per week service, which we will now deliver.”

The Fund recently appointed local Courtney Elliot as the Swan Hill branch’s Area Manager, Central Murray, with recruitment underway for two full-time Member Experience Officers.

“I have commenced my training and am looking forward to learning about the positive impact Mildura Health as an organisation can have in our local community,” Ms Elliot said.

“I am excited about meeting the Fund’s existing members and people from the region looking to join Mildura Health Fund.”

Mr Op de Coul said since the branch opened, the Swan Hill and surrounds membership base had grown to about 1000, and it was expected to continue to grow in the new year.

“The support from local members has been extremely positive and we can’t thank them enough for that.

“As an organisation, we are committed to positively impacting health, especially across the Mallee and Far West NSW.

“Throughout the past six years, we have proudly invested in the Swan Hill community by providing support to a range of clubs, leagues and events, and we plan to increase our exposure moving forward.”

Mr Op de Coul said while many other organisations were moving away from an in-person service, MHF considered it a pillar of its success.

“Private Health Insurance is complicated, and we know that members in all our locations value the face-to-face service.

“This has been proven in Swan Hill, where each week we are seeing 15 to 30 members or potential new members visit the branch on a Wednesday and Thursday.

“Unlike some organisations, we are investing in a face-to-face service, as this is the foundation of our business.”

Mildura Health Fund owns Mildura Health Private Hospital, which earlier this year, opened the Mildura Health Icon Cancer Centre to provide radiation oncology to patients throughout the Mallee, Riverland and Far West NSW.

MHF is a not-for-profit, member-owned, private health insurer and has over 37,000 members from across the country. It is now Australia’s oldest health fund.