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New Strategic Plan Launched

The EWHS Board has recently finalised a strategic plan for the period up to 2025.

The plan identifies both a vision and a purpose statement for EWHS as follows:

🔹 Vision

“To see sustainable improvement in the health and wellbeing of our community”

🔹 Purpose

“To work together with our community to achieve better health and wellbeing outcomes”

Development of the plan took into consideration community feedback, demographics, healthcare trends and government policy.

The plan identifies four key priorities designed to address the healthcare needs of our community and the current challenges impacting our organisation. These are:

▪️ Our Communities --- We partner with our community to achieve personal, effective, safe and connected care that improves health outcomes and wellbeing and address causes of poor health that matter to our community.

▪️ Our Workforce --- We develop our staff across all levels of the workforce and provide a great, supportive and safe workplace.

▪️ Our Partners --- We partner to improve our services and sustainability.

▪️ Our Business --- We will provide into the future the right services that are sustainable.

The plan forms the foundation of the work EWHS will undertake in coming years in order to continue to deliver meaningful and appropriate services to our communities in the best way possible.

A full version of the plan is available under the 'About Us' tab - Strategic Plan

BIRCHIP CAMPUS BUILDING REDEVELOPMENT

Click the button below to view the Birchip Campus Building Redevelopment.

BIRCHIP CAMPUS

New service available at EWHS - Continence Nurse

Our Continence Nurse can provide a range of services to assist older community members with continence issues.

If you or someone you know, who is 65 years of age or older or for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who are 50 years of age or older would like to book an appointment to see the EWHS Continence Nurse, please call EWHS Central Intake Service on 5477 2222 or go to My Aged Care to make a referral at: https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/make-a-referral

Medical Imaging Service at East Wimmera Health Service

A Medical Imaging Service is available three days a week at the St Arnaud Campus and appointments can be made by calling 5477 2241.

Pictured right is Mr John Harley utilising the Medical Imaging Services - knee xray.

ADVANCE CARE PLANNING

What is Advance Care Planning?

Advance Care Planning involves thinking about, discussing with your family and close friends, and possibly documenting what types of health care you may or may not wish to receive - if you become seriously ill and/or unable to speak for yourself. It also makes things easier for your family by preventing confusion and conflict over medical decision making. It is about people taking control of their health care wishes now and in the future. This is especially relevant near the end of life, meaning your specific treatment wishes as well as your goals, values and beliefs are known and can be respected by health providers and those closest to you.

Advance Care Planning involves:

1. Appointing a person, known as a substitute decision maker, who can make health care decisions for you if you are too unwell to do this for yourself.

2. Writing your wishes down in an advance care directive, sometimes known as a ‘living will’.

Advance Care Planning documents are actioned if you are unable to communicate or make informed decisions.

We recommend that your Advance Care Directive are stored in a safe but easily accessible, with a photocopy attached to your fridge so that Ambulance paramedics can easily access your Advance Care Plan when needed.

Who should consider Advance Care Planning?

All people, aged 18 years and over, should consider an Advance Care Plan. While well and healthy, it can be hard to think about treatments that might never be required, but life can change in an instant and difficult medical decisions may need to be made about you. For example, chronic illnesses or unexpected events/accidents. If you were unable to make medical decisions when needed, who would you like to speak for you and what should they decide? These are the benefits of Advance Care Planning.

How to get started with Advance Care Planning?

Your Advance Care Plan can be written on the forms in the Take Control booklet. These booklets are available at all EWHS campuses.

Alternatively, you can download a Take Control booklet at https://www.publicadvocate.vic.gov.au/resources/booklets/advance-planning-booklets/474-take-control-1/file

Talk to your General Practitioner about completing the Advance Care Planning process.

For further information, please contact

Central Intake on 5477 2222.

What is involved with Advance Care Planning?

Advance Care Planning can involve all or some of the following considerations:

• Think about your past health experiences.

• Think about your beliefs, goals and values that are important in your life.

• Think about your current health and possible future health problems.

• Think about what you would want from future medical care.

• Talk to your family and those close to you about these issues.

• Talk to your doctor.

• Choose a substitute decision maker to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to do this for yourself - in Victoria this is best done by appointing a Substitute Decision Maker.

• Provide copies of your Advance Care Plan to your family, your Substitute Decision Maker, hospital and your doctor and anyone else who you feel is appropriate.

• Review your plan regularly or as circumstances change.

My Health Record

My Health Record is a secure online summary of your key health information.

Over time, My Health Record will bring together health information such as medical conditions, medicines, allergies, test results and hospital discharge summaries in one place.
You can choose who it’s shared with, who can access it and what's in it.

Find out more by clicking the My Health Record hyperlink below.

My Health Record