“Our 217,000 insured people in Upper Austria will receive a new health center with a specialist, diagnostic and therapy center as well as telemedical support. With the attractive opening times and the comprehensive offering, we are strengthening prevention and making an important contribution to regional care,” says Peter Lehner, chairman of the social insurance for the self-employed (SVS), at the presentation of the SVS health center (GZ) on Monday morning in Linz. The implementation partner is the Upper Austrian Health Holding (OÖG). “In the Upper Austrian Health Holding, we have a partner who not only has the relevant expertise, but is also deeply rooted in the healthcare system in Upper Austria. This pioneering project shows strong cooperation between social security and the state of Upper Austria. We use synergies and create efficiency and effectiveness.”
“In Upper Austria we work together towards one goal – that the people in our state can live well and healthily. This project represents successful collaboration on an equal footing between the SVS, the OÖG and the state of Upper Austria. With the new health center, we are making a good and valuable contribution that will further improve health care in our state and offer each and every one of the approximately 217,000 insured people a broad and comprehensive range of options to strengthen their own health. Particularly noteworthy is the focus on prevention in the new health center,” emphasizes State Health Councilor LH Deputy Mag.a Christine Haberlander.
“With this step, the Upper Austrian Health Holding is strengthening its position as a reliable partner for comprehensive and innovative healthcare in Upper Austria. We are not only expanding our field of expertise, but are also making a significant contribution to the health care of the Upper Austrian population. Our goal is to create modern, holistic care in the health center that puts people at the center. With an experienced team and innovative approaches, we want to create a place where the insured are in good hands – from the first consultation to successful treatment. At the same time, we want to actively contribute to relieving the burden on our hospital outpatient departments,” says Dr. Franz Harnoncourt, Chairman of the CEO of the Upper Austria Health Holding.
The GZ is developed according to the one-stop shop principle. The range of services includes dermatology, gynecology, ENT, internal medicine, neurology, orthopedics, urology, dentistry, disability examinations, bone density measurement, ultrasound, ECG, pulmonary function tests, nerve conduction velocity measurement, blood findings, gastroscopy and colonoscopy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, pain therapy and wound management. In the health center in Vienna, over 97,000 treatments and 7,000 preventive examinations were carried out in 2023.
The new health center is housed in the SVS building on Hanuschstrasse in Linz. It covers around 1,400 square meters. The GZ in Upper Austria will be the second in Austria after the GZ in Vienna. The groundbreaking ceremony for another health center for the Burgenland, Styria and Carinthia region took place in Graz in early summer 2024. A joint operating GmbH is founded in Upper Austria with a 51% share from SVS and a 49% share from OÖG. A two-stage EU-wide procurement process was carried out to search for operators. The opening is planned for 2026.
Upper Austrian Health Holding GmbH (OÖG)
With its stake in Kepler Universitätsklinikum GmbH, Oberösterreichische Gesundheitholding GmbH (OÖG) is Upper Austria’s largest hospital operator with a total market share of 53.4%. In addition to the Kepler University Hospital in Linz, the OÖG operates five regional clinics at eight locations. The Salzkammergut Klinikum and the Pyhrn-Eisenwurzen Klinikum are priority hospitals. The Upper Austria Health Holding and its subsidiaries employ around 16,000 people.
In addition to its shareholding in Kepler Universitätsklinikum GmbH (100%), Oberösterreichische Gesundheitsholding GmbH also holds interests in Landespflege- und Pflegezentrums GmbH (100%), in Med – and rental GmbH (of which 81% through the OÖG and 19% through the Kepler Universitätsklinikum GmbH) as well as at the therapy center Gmundnerberg (40%), at the Rohrbach “kokon” children’s rehabilitation center (35%), at the Enns rehabilitation clinic (33%) and at the Sankt Barbara Hospiz GmbH (19%).
SVS – social insurance for the self-employed
The SVS is the social insurance for the self-employed and is organized as a nationwide, professional provider. With its health, pension and accident insurance divisions, SVS offers all self-employed people in Austria social security from a single source. Nine of our own health facilities with over 1,000 beds, 8,000 contracted doctors, 3,000 dentists and a further 9,000 contractual partners, such as physiotherapists and speech therapists, are available to the 1.3 million SVS customers throughout Austria. The transaction volume is 12.3 billion euros. The chairman is Peter Lehner, the general director is Dr. Alexander Biach. www.svs.at