Primary health services at the maximum security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Ravenhall will transition from Correct Care Australasia to Western Health from July 1.
Dhelkaya (Castlemaine) Health will also take over from Correct Care Australasia at Tarrengower Prison, a minimum security prison near Bendigo.
Victorian Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan said Western Health and Dhelkaya Health's close proximity to the facilities and ability to meet female prisoners' distinct needs were key to the services securing the contracts.
"We want to avoid people coming into contact with the justice system in the first place. But for those who do, the system has a duty of care to look after them and help them get their lives back on track," he said on Friday.
"We recognise in the past, this hasn't always been the case for women in custody - a more tailored and appropriate standard of healthcare is needed."
The services will have designated Aboriginal health roles, with all First Nations people entering custody to undergo a health check in order to develop a tailored care plan.
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Nerita Waight said the changes were a momentous first step towards bringing prison healthcare into line with the broader community.
"Prison healthcare in Victoria is in a state of emergency. We speak to client's daily about poor quality healthcare in prisons," she said.
"This crisis is particularly acute for Aboriginal people in prison who are more likely to die in custody because they didn't get the healthcare they needed. Four Aboriginal people have died in Victoria's prisons since Veronica Nelson."
An inquest into Ms Nelson's death at Melbourne's Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in January 2020 heard she screamed for help for hours before she was found dead in her cell.
Her partner of 20 years, Percy Lovett, launched a wrongful death lawsuit against the state of Victoria, Correct Care Australasia and three others earlier this month, alleging her death in custody breached human rights.
Private provider GEO Group Australia last week announced it had signed a five-year contract with the Victorian government to deliver primary health services across 13 public prisons.
Correct Care Australasia, which has been contacted for comment, is a subcontractor of GEO Group Australia.
Ms Waight said the next step for the Victorian government was to rid private healthcare companies from all public-run prisons in the state.
"Private for-profit corporations have no place in providing healthcare to Aboriginal people," she said.
Victorian Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam welcomed the women's prisons decision but said the government must look into a whole set of reforms for Victoria's justice system.
"This includes raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 and fixing our broken bail laws," she said.
A coroner is expected to hand down findings into Ms Nelson's death in late January.
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