Sector Expert: VHI

VHI 360

HEALTHCARE

In January, Vhi announced the opening of its Vhi 360 Health Centre in Limerick. Situated in Raheen Business Park, the centre offers rapid access to urgent care for minor injuries and illnesses, along with a range of health and wellbeing services delivered by a multidisciplinary team. The opening of the Vhi 360 Health Centre is an evolution of the successful Vhi SwiftCare Clinic service, which has grown rapidly over the past 12 years. Delivering an entirely new approach to care, the team will work together, taking your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing into consideration to build an integrated, personalised plan centred around you. The range of services available includes: 360 health coaching by referral through urgent care, primary care services for those attending the centre, as well as physiotherapy, radiology and orthopaedic follow up. Dr Lynda Keaveney, Vhi 360 Health Centre, Clinical Director says: “Our mission at Vhi is to help our customers and patients lead longer, stronger, healthier lives. We have a proven track record in introducing innovative, customer-focussed services which helps to provide a more efficient and better patient experience.” Vhi’s range of experts includes a team of health coaches, some of whom are based in their Limerick centre, who have years of experience in providing health advice you can truly trust. Their experts can help no matter what journey you are on, stage you are at, or step you are taking. In the next issue one of the team will provide you with expert health advice or you can visit vhiblog.ie in the meantime.

VHI healthcare DAC trading as VHI healthcare is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland

Limerick,

An Evolving City Powering the Region

It’s been a tumultuous time of late for our members, but there are signs that we may be finally turning a corner. The city is starting to feel more alive, critical construction work has recommenced and diners are making use of colourful parklets. These are welcome signs of positive changes for our city and region, which has faced unprecedented challenges over the last eighteen months. Limerick Chamber has worked hard to support members during this time, providing crucial behind-thescenes support and assistance to the Limerick business community. We have continued to foster valuable organisational relationships, facilitate networking, and strengthen skills with innovative events and training. We also continued to liaise with key stakeholders on behalf of our members to support important projects for our regional economy. While many of these had been paused for a time, construction has now resumed, and we’re delighted to update our members on the progress of the many exciting developments in the region. Supporting a flourishing city centre is chief among our ambitions, and so we’re glad to see the Limerick Urban Centre Revitalisation on O’Connell Street (LUCROC) project commence. The Chamber made substantial submissions in relation to this project, calling for placemaking to be at the heart of the plans. The final designs will see the narrowing and slowing of traffic lanes, the addition of a cycle lane and the widening of footpaths for people to gather and enjoy the offerings of shops and cafés on the street. In addition, high quality street furniture including seating areas, trees, planting, bicycle stands and lighting, as well as sculptures, pedestrian plazas and water installations will all contribute to making Limerick a place people will want to live in and visit. Dr. Pat Daly, Chief Executive of Limerick City & County Council is confident that the result will be transformative: “This will open up a whole new place for Limerick, less dominated by the car, and more dominated by people,” he said. “There’s a move from purely retail, purely business into more experiential developments,” Daly explained, “And we’re supporting that with outdoor dining, licencing, streetscaping, and parklets, which will more or less become a permanent feature of the city.” Bookending O’Connell Street are two more highly visible construction projects: the International Rugby Experience Museum and the Opera Development. The 2,250m² sevenstorey building that will house the new rugby experience is now nearing completion and is expected to offer a high quality cultural and visitor attraction for rugby fans. “The museum is probably going to attract, when we can all travel again, 100,000 people a year, in a beautiful building in Georgian Limerick,” Daly said, pointing out that the site will be “a ready-made tourism project” for when visitor numbers return in earnest. The investment will create a new cultural institution and visitor experience to honour the worldwide game of rugby, according to Níall McLaughlin Architects, who designed the building. The state-of-the-art museum will, they say, “reinvigorate the city centre, complement the existing local arts and heritage attractions, and forge links with Munster rugby.” On the other side of the city, scaffolding and signs surround the 3.7-acre Opera Site, signalling the start of one of Limerick’s most anticipated projects to date. The landmark commercial development in the centre of the city will entail office, library, public realm, and retail space that will put “a whole new economic heart into the city,” according to David Conway, CEO of Limerick Twenty Thirty. Conway estimated, “The Covid pandemic put us back about four months, but construction workers are on site, and we expect all the demolition works to be completed this year.” By day, the €180m employment hub will employ up to 3,000 people across a campus accommodation that spans 450,000 square feet. After close of business, it will transform into a lively night-time destination bustling with restaurants, bars, and open entertainment spaces. This is key to Limerick Twenty Thirty’s goal to create an environment for Limerick to develop and thrive and will act as a catalyst for other major city centre investment. “We want to be internationally-recognised as an exemplar for delivering the most innovative region – a great, vibrant, modern, dynamic place to learn, live, work and grow,” Conway said.

Cost of living and quality of life is key to attracting companies and employees, and for trying to retain our talented graduates in the region

Regional Manager Mid-West Region at IDA Ireland Will Corcoran