The new website contains details and the reasoning behind the proposal, and prompts the community to have their say.

For the first edition of the series, Care for Our Region addressed the economic impacts of a new health service in the Wimmera.

Wimmera Health Care Group chief executive Catherine Morley said the new service would be better suited to attract and retain workers in the region, thereby boosting Wimmera's economic growth.

"We believe the medical workforce needs the opportunity to be a part of a team, to bounce off each other, have peer support and education that Horsham alone can't provide," she said.

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"What we want to do is attract and retain these highly skilled people to be part of our community, to live in town and to support our community; help our community and support them with our health and well being needs."

Ms Morley said partnering with Ballarat would also take the pressure off specialists working in the region, who would be better equipped to travel between the two cities.

"The recruitment will be easier because we will be part of a larger health service. Currently in Horsham, we are unable to attract someone to come up one day a week; it isn't in their best interest and we just don't have that critical mass," she said.

"Whereas if we are part of a larger health service, a cardiologist, and orthopedic surgeon specialising in shoulder replacements would be able to be part of a larger orthopedic team, and have a schedule which would include them coming down once a fortnight and doing a couple days treatment.

"Having the capacity to be part of a peer support network, an access to a range of surgeries that they will be able to do and the ability to grow as well, because there will always be a head of orthopedic surgery that will come up eventually. We don't offer that option in Horsham."

For more information on the Care for Our Region initiative, visit https://careforourregion.com.au/.

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