NEWS DESK
Project to track children’s wellbeing By Joseph Misuraca A MOUNT Eliza couple are working on a new statewide health initiative to track and improve children’s wellbeing. Dr Jolyon Ford, 51, and his wife, Jo Ford, 49, are working at Peninsula Health on ‘GenV’. The program is designed to track Victorian babies born between 2020-2022. Its goal, according to the GenV website, is to achieve “a better approach to child health, development and wellbeing in Victoria”. It’s a voluntary program, and one of the largest of its kind. The research study is being carried out by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute at the Royal Children’s Hospital. It will address numerous issues including asthma
and obesity to name a few. Dr Ford is Clinical Director for Women’s Health at Peninsula Health. He’s helped to facilitate the program’s launch at Frankston Hospital. “The study collects a whole bunch of what we call ‘demographic data’ which is just about family, what they do, where they live, their socio-economic status, their smoking status, the genetic information from the parents and the child,” Dr Ford said. Mrs Ford is a primary school teacher who’s having a break from the profession to now be a recruiter for GenV. Her job is to approach families on the maternity ward once their baby has been born, and to sign them up with GenV. The parents’ and newborn’s data are safely and securely
de-identified. Over the past 25 years of teaching, Mrs Ford has noticed the amount of children with health problems has increased dramatically. “When I started teaching 25 years ago, and I would get my class list, there might be a couple of children that had certain conditions,” Mrs Ford said. “But now, when you get a class list, there are so many children that are flagged for a variety of reasons.” Dr Ford said GenV will give researchers information about the causes of various health conditions so they can help the current adult population, not just future generations. GenV will soon be launched at Bay’s Hospital and Peninsula Private. You can find out more about GenV at genv.org.au
Future focus: Jolyon and Jo Ford are working on a new health initiative aiming to track the progress of newborns to improve their wellbeing. Picture: Yanni
Gee that’s cold: Beleura JFC U11s team manager David Lennon-Bowers endures the ice bucket challenge. Picture: Gary Bradshaw
Beleura beats The Beast in mini big freeze AN ice bucket challenge proved a hit for Beleura Junior Football Club players last week after they had to cancel the much-anticipated dunk tank. The club, which plays at Dallas Brooks Park, Mornington, raised around $4500 from the sale of beanies and Sock it 2 MND socks, with all Beleura players wearing the socks for their matches. More than $1700 was raised in donations to the ice bucket challenges. All Beleura coaches took part, as well as a “couple of good sports from the opposition”. Mount Martha Community Branch of the Bendigo Bank was a major sponsor. Guests on the day included Melbourne AFLW player Shelley Heath,
Pines senior coach Paddy Swayne, Beleura Legends Matty Mayne and Khyal Jacobson, Brad Sykes and Taela Davis, of Brad Skyes Sports Consulting, Carlton Premiership player Dean Rice and MPJFL president Andrew Souter. Special guests who couldn’t attend sent through videos of themselves performing their ice bucket challenges remotely. They have been uploaded onto the club’s Facebook page: facebook.com/BeleuraJSC “This will become an annual event at Beleura, next year we hope for the dunk tank and bigger crowds,” spokesperson Marianne Guy said. To donate visit hub.fightmnd.org. au/diy-big-freeze/beleura-juniorfootball-club-1
Mornington News
29 June 2021
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