Australia’s newest, integrated private mental health services business, Avive Health has confirmed plans to deliver mental health care differently, opening its first two private mental health hospitals in Queensland and Victoria.

The progressive, privately-owned company – co-founded by two experienced senior health care executives and a leading psychiatrist – has embraced the latest health design principles, technology-integrated care and trauma-aware programs intended to reinvigorate mental health services while providing better outcomes for patients.

All aspects of the treatment journey are clinician-led from facility design to program offerings, with sophisticated inpatient treatment and therapy, complemented by day programs, outpatient specialist suites and home-based virtual support. 

The company’s first two private hospitals – Avive Clinic Brisbane and Avive Clinic Mornington Peninsula – with a combined project value of $70m deliver a further 123 private mental health beds to the nation’s health sector.

Co-founder and Co-CEO, Greg Procter said, “We’ve established Avive Health so it’s beyond just a hospital stay; although hospitals are a key part of our business, we’re focused on delivering evidenced-based services throughout a person’s entire mental health and wellness journey.”

“We want to ensure that our treatment team, which includes everyone from nursing staff and allied health practitioners, right through to our psychiatrists have the best-in-class treatment options within reach, so we have every confidence that each patient is getting the best possible care tailored to their individual needs,” said Mr Procter.

Co-founder and Co-CEO, Mark Sweeney added that Avive’s newly opened private hospitals are unlike anything seen before. 

“Our facilities embrace salutogenic design principles, which is a research-backed approach focused on creating environments to support health and wellbeing rather than simply treating illness. Our hospitals are designed specifically for mental health; by recognising the connection between a person’s health and their physical surroundings we’ve created environments that actively support recovery along every step of a patient’s hospital treatment journey.”

This includes interior design to support the emotional and spiritual states of patients, as well as integrating indoors and out through nature, landscaping and natural light.

Mr Sweeney added, “We have also invested heavily into a range of building technologies and management systems such as circadian rhythm lighting, true presence sensors, electronic patient tablets, security and access control technology – all designed to improve the patient experience and ultimately, outcomes specific to what each of our patients need.”

Avive Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr Matt McDornan said Avive Health’s clinical model is built around patients presenting with a complex of symptoms, symptom experiences, traumas, 
 self and relational issues, as well as substance use problems. 

“When planning our new hospital developments, the business, in close consultation with our clinicians, has taken the opportunity to update the treatment experience alongside some key pieces that historically have been missing. In doing so, we’re able complement each of our patients’ individual management plans and interventions with the aim to ultimately achieve best possible patient outcomes.”

“We see our facilities as not just delivering trauma-informed programs, but rather having a trauma-informed culture and facility itself so that both clinical and non-clinical staff can positively impact each patient’s journey.”

Dr McDornan said that Avive’s inpatient programs as well as outpatient programs are tiered to the needs of patients.

“They are also at a level of readiness, and psychological understanding and awareness.”

“On the other hand, if people are at a different stage of treatment or further progressed, they may need more processing and trauma-orientated treatment, which involves more dynamic principles of understanding how their development influenced their sense of self and relational world, beyond just controlling their symptoms alone,” said Dr McDornan.

Avive’s inpatient psychological programs are complemented by individual exercise physiology programs, facilitated in each hospital’s purpose-built gym areas to further enhance patient outcomes.

Read article published on the Australian Private Hospital Association (APHA) website.

Pictured above (L-R): Avive Health co-founders Greg Procter, Mark Sweeney and Dr Matt McDornan.