CAH Annual Report 2006 - South West Alliance of Rural Health

Colac Area Health Annual Report 2006Colac Area Healthseeks to providedynamic initiativesand programs whichpromote behaviourand environmentsthat support healthand wellbeing forall members of thecommunity. This alsomeans increasingthe capacity toconsult and engagewith the communityto help develop anunderstanding andknowledge of personaland community health.Community NursingIn collaboration with the Western DistrictHealth Service, Colac Area Health (CAH)has participated as a partner agency in thedevelopment and implementation of theSustainable Farm Families Project, utilisingthe skills and talents of the Home andCommunity Nursing Team. The project ispredicated upon the view that the good healthof the farmer and farming family is the singlemost important investment of a dairy business.Colac Area Health is working with 200dairy farmers across Victoria, includingColac and district, over a three-year period.Participants are provided with practicalinformation regarding the importance of goodhealth and its link to the productivity of thefarming business. Sessions include a broadrange of health-related topics including stressmanagement, prevention of ill health, farmsafety and nutrition. All participants undergophysical health checks and ongoing monitoringto assess blood sugar levels, cholesterol, bodymass index and blood pressure.Birregurra Community Health Centre has anew building extension achieved as aresult of a bequest left to the Birregurracommunity to develop an activities roomfor use by the community. Along with thecompletion of the Colac Community Hub,these developments represent excellentcollaboration, participation and engagementwith the local community, and testimony tothe quality of agency partnerships and thewonderful work of our volunteers.The employment of two Refugee HealthNurses followed a successful fundingsubmission process. The new roles haveproved invaluable in bringing together theSudanese community and providing healtheducation and access to health services,including the development of a paediatricclinic organised in conjunction with localdoctors and a visiting paediatrician.World Refugee Day was celebrated witha Soccer Carnival held at Trinity College,Colac in June. The day was well attended andsupported by Colac Police, Diversitat, CAHand local community involvement. The CAHCulturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD)program has continued to attract vital fundingto support our work with culturally diversemembers of the community.Men’s Behaviour ChangeNew developments in regard to the FamilyViolence Program funding have providedCAH with the opportunity to work with menwho use violence against family members.This is a challenging and highly specialisedapproach that requires CAH to haveaccredited staff in Men’s Behaviour ChangeProgram Facilitation.Two staff (one male and one female), fundedby the Department of Human Services(DHS), are completing the requisite GraduateCertificate in Social Science at SwinburneUniversity to be completed by the end of2006. It will be a challenging and excitingopportunity for a community of this size tohave the capacity to work holistically in thefield of family violence.The Social YouthConnective in Colac(SYCIC)The Social Youth Connective in Colac(SYCIC) is a vibrant group of young peoplewho are working closely with a variety ofstaff to ensure that we are aware of, andaddressing, pertinent issues for young peoplein the Colac region. This group initiallyparticipated in a two-day Peer Skills andAdventure Activity Program with Colac AreaHealth (CAH) staff and meet on a regularbasis as a group and with their mentor. Thegroup has organised an alcohol and drugfree“Open Mic(rophone)” event, convenedand supported same sex attraction initiatives,completed alcohol and other drug peereducation and much more.Smoking CessationService (SCS)The Smoking Cessation Service (SCS) wasestablished at CAH in July 2005. The firstgroup of clients commenced in August.The service covers both community-basedoutpatients and acute inpatients, includingthose in the Pre-admission Clinic.The evidence base for this service was set outin Smoking Cessation Guidelines establishedby the Woolcock Institute of Medical Researchin Sydney and supported by the Lung HealthPromotion Centre of the Alfred Hospital inMelbourne. Formal training was undertakenby three CAH staff to deliver this service. Theteam has forged strong ongoing relationshipswith other health organisations seeking toestablish a similar service.The demand for appointments exceedsavailability, with the greatest source of referralscoming from General Practitioners and theBarwon Mental Health Team. An increasingnumber of clients are self-referred.The raw data for evaluation of the SmokingCessation Clinic is currently being collectedand collated. Early figures indicate that thesuccess rate of 64% established in the firstsix months should be maintained. This highlevel is in keeping with the expected outcomesestablished by The Royal Prince AlfredHospital in Sydney. A total of 114 registeredclients have been seen between the months ofAugust 2005 and June 2006.These examples encapsulate the range anddiversity of our work and strongly complementthe standard ‘core business’ functions ofthe Primary Care Division. Colac AreaHealth seeks to provide dynamic initiativesand high quality programs, promotingbehaviour and environments that supporthealth and wellbeing for all members of thecommunity. In practical terms, this alsomeans increasing the capacity to consult andengage with the community to help developjoint understanding and shared knowledge ofpersonal and community health.Our emphasis upon health promotion anda social model of health is built upon strongand meaningful consumer participation,which provides valuable momentum towardsthe achievement of good health outcomesacross all sections of our increasingly diversecommunity.John TownsendDirector of Primary CareYoung people involvedin the Social YouthConnective in Colacwork closely with ColacArea Health staff toraise awareness ofissues affecting youngpeople in the region.34Colac Area Health Annual Report 200635