Winter 2024 Community Newsletter

LLIFTTHE AIDWALK, ACTIVE PRIL WRAPUP

HEALTH CARE FINDER PROGRAM

The Care Finder Program supports vulnerable older people who would not be able to arrange services without intensive support and do not have a family member or friends who can help.

Who can receive assistance from a Care Finder?

Care Finders are not for everyone. They specifically help older community members who need intensive assistance to access aged care and other supports

To receive care finder support, a person must:

• have no carer or support person who can help them, or

• not have a carer or support person they feel comfortable or trust to support them, and

• be eligible for government-funded aged care

They may:

• have difficulty communicating because of language or literacy problems

• find it difficult to understand information and make decisions

• be reluctant to engage with aged care or government

• be in an unsafe situation if they do not receive services.

Care Finders can help people understand what aged care services are available, set up an assessment and find and choose services.

Talking to My Aged Care on their behalf and arranging an assessment Attending and providing support at, during and after the assessment Solving other challenges and connecting to supports in the community, such as health, mental health, housing and homelessness, drug and alcohol services and community groups What

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

This will be my last Interim CEO message as we welcome Mark Ashcroft to the role of NCN Health CEO on June 17.

Mark has a strong commitment to innovation, quality care, health, social and economic development of the staff and community.

He began his career as a Registered Nurse at GV Health before moving on with additional qualifications in Critical Care and Midwifery whilst working in Regional, Metropolitan and Interstate hospitals. In 2002 he joined Alpine Health as Health Services Manager. Over the 14 years with Alpine Health he had multiple stints as Acting CEO, led numerous projects and partnerships and completed a 12-month secondment to the Scottish NHS overseeing the rollout of the first Virtual Ward.

Mark comes to us from Beechworth Health where he has been CEO since 2016.

I am confident he will be a great fit for our team and we look forward to welcoming him to NCN Health in June.

NUMURKAH PIONEERS MEMORIAL LODGE

The redevelopment of the Numurkah Pioneers Memorial Lodge is well into planning stage. Given the size and scope of the project, the Victorian Health Building Authority or VHBA (who are an arm of the Department of Health) are leading this project. This is different to some of the smaller projects that NCN Health have completed where our organisation manages the build internally.

The VHBA have put a team together to develop the new Lodge, this is an extensive team including; Victorian Health Aged Care, architects, project managers, service engineers, quality surveyors, civil and structural engineers, traffic engineers, landscape design and building surveyors.

These team will work with myself as Director of Operations, Operations Manager Bronti O’Connor, Numurkah Maintenance Manager John Fothergill and Nurse Unit Manager Raj Kumahr to move the project forward and consult on detailed design This group will have input and assistance from an Advisory Group of staff and consumers.

We currently have a draft design of the new Lodge which outlines all the features we have to include under the National Aged Care Design Principals. We will then move into a detailed and final design with consultation from all groups. These should be completed by September 2024 with the build to start by mid-2025. We expect the build to take 18 – 24 months.

COBRAM CAMPUS URGENT CARE CENTRE OPEN

We were thrilled to see the Cobram Campus Urgent Care Centre officially open on March 27. Construction continues at Cobram Campus for stage two of the renovations. For more on this exciting project, head to page 6.

I’d like to acknowledge the leadership team, staff and community for your support during my time as Interim CEO. It has been a challenging but rewarding few months and I have enjoyed working with you all

Justin Sullivan Interim CEO

Cobram Urgent Care Centre and Stage Two Renovations

The new NCN Health Cobram Urgent Care Centre officially opened on Wednesday March 27. The new facility is part of a redevelopment at NCN Health Cobram that includes new urgent care facilities, increased floor space and improved staff and community safety with a separate entry into urgent care, new ambulance bay and two waiting areas.

Access to urgent care is through the new urgent care entrance at the front of the health service off Broadway street, urgent care parking is off Broadway street in the main car park. Access to x-ray and ultrasound is through the original main reception entrance. Parking for x-ray and ultrasound is in front of Irvin House on O’Dwyer street.

NCN Health Interim CEO Justin Sullivan said while the new Urgent Care Centre is now open, there is still more work to go on the project with construction works ongoing both inside and outside the health service.

“The opening of the Urgent Care Centre marked the end of stage one of three renovation stages taking place at Cobram Campus Stage two renovation is happening now and includes the demolition of the old ambulance entrance, refurbishment of the old urgent care to create a new ultrasound room, office and toilets. The old acute ward reception is being remodelled and there will be installation of a new fire wall.”

Mr. Sullivan said during stage two of the renovations, internal and external access will be impacted.

“Access to the main entrance and staff and visitor car park is impacted due to the ongoing renovations. There is no parking for staff or visitors in the front main car park off Broadway street, this area will be partly used for Urgent Care Centre parking and the rest will be fenced off and used by Crowe Construction while they manage stage two of renovations. Access to the main entrance will be via the footpath on the O’Dwyer street side of the health service, you will enter this footpath near the front of Irvin House residential aged care.”

Stage two of renovations is expected to take 6 months. There will be temporary signage put in place to direct the flow of road and foot traffic. If you have any concerns around access or parking, please contact NCN Health Cobram front reception on 03 5871 0777 and we will be happy to direct you.

Cobram Urgent Care Centre and Stage

Two Renovations

Community Fun Day and Bus Launch

Rotary Club of Numurkah and NCN Health hosted the Community Bus Launch event in Newman Square on Saturday June 1st.

The morning was to thank the community and major sponsors for their support in fundraising for an all access bus.

Rotary hosted a breakfast for a gold coin donation, NCN Health staff were in attendance with health promotion material, family games and the smoothie bike. President Julie Andrew presented major sponsors with a certificate of recognition.

“On behalf of Rotary and NCN Health we acknowledge the work of the Rotary members for organizing the appeal, the Bendigo Bank for assisting in the appeal and a group of corporate donors and individuals for their generosity, including Graincorp, Numurkah Pharmacy, Numurkah Lions Club, Numurkah Lions Ladies, Pioneers Memorial Lodge Auxiliary and The Dyson Family.”

The Bus is already a hit with residents, staff and volunteers. The 11-seater allabilities access bus accommodates wheelchair access, offers handrails and a modified step entry. The bus will be used by residents of Numurkah Pioneer Memorial Lodge and Karinya Nursing Home to participate in community activities and events. The bus will also be made available for community groups in Numurkah who support isolated and aged people. The new wheels are thanks to Rotary Club of Numurkah who led the fundraiser in partnership with Bendigo Bank and NCN Health. The project was first launched in February 2022 and thanks to the incredible community support enough money was raised to purchase two vehicles by the end of 2022. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 there were significant delays in production and NCN Health are still awaiting receipt and fit out of the second bus, it should be on the road in the next 1 – 2 months.

Community Fun Day and Bus Launch

Rotary President Julie Andrews thanks Melodie Hawkins from Moira Shire, Patrick Martin from Grain Corp, Nukurkah Lions, Megan Shaw at Bendigo Bank and Numurkah Pioneer Lodge Auxiliary representatives.

Right: Peter Cox whips up a smoothie on the bike!

Volunteers Week 2024

Volunteers Week 2024 was held from May 20 - 26. As part of celebrations to thank the amazing cohort of NCN Health volunteers Jacquie Hughes organised two bus loads of NCN Health volunteers to attend the Volunteers Week event hosted at ClubMulwala. The event was attended by volunteers from all around our regionwith volunteers from Yarrawonga Health, Yarrawonga Mulwala Community & Learning Centre and MHA Care. With guest speakers talking about the importance of volunteering and community involvement - Marissa Daly and Zoe Schweda.

An amazing turnout for the inaugural Rotary Club of Numurkah Lift The Lid for Mental Health 5km walk. NCN Health was proud to support such a fantastic initiative. Many thanks to all the community members who came along. Thanks also the ‘Unbreakable Farmer’ Warren Davies for chatting to the crowd about mental health tools and resources and to the Scouts for catering.

Across Nathalia and Cobram campuses Angela Mitchell hosted Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea events for staff. Along with the yummy morning tea were games and raffles.

Gardening Nathalia!

Recently residents at Banawah along with Social Support Group clients gathered to pot up some plants and plant seedlings in spare pots found around Banawah. Thank you to NCN staff member Heidi for sourcing the soil and seeds along with volunteers Carolyn and Leeanne who helped the residents and clients along with Leisure an Lifestyle staff members Lyn and Karen. Some plants were propagated from existing plants in the garden! The residents, clients, visitors and staff look forward to bountiful colour in the months to come.

@ NCN Health @ NCN Health Work Work

With many opportunities at NCN Health across a range of clinical and non clinical roles, there has never been a better time to join the health service.

Food Services Assistant

NCN Health have an exciting opportunity for an Food Services Assistant to join our team in Food Services at Nathalia The Food Services Assistant will help to provide quality, nutritious food prepared according to Hazard analysis and critical control point guidelines (HACCP) and the Food Safety Plan.

Allied Health Assistant

The Allied Health Assistant (AHA) works as part of a multidisciplinary Community Health and Wellbeing team at NCN Health, providing support to clinicians in the delivery of quality, client focused allied health services across the organisation including our Community Health and Wellbeing department, Residential Aged Care facilities and the Moira Community Rehabilitation Centre

Registered Nurse

NCN Health have an exciting opportunity for Registered Nurses to join our team in Urgent Care - Acute at NCN Cobram. The Registered Nurse is an integral member of the nursing team who provide services to a diverse client group, this role will be focused on the care of patients in the Urgent Care Unit. Within this role the Registered Nurse is accountable to support the ANUM for the efficient and effective provision of quality client care that promotes the clients / residents’ well-being

Deb Barnes Retires after 39 years

Congratulations and thank you to Deb Barnes - District Nurse Unit Manager. Deb has retired from NCN Health after an impressive 39 years working across Nathalia and Cobram campuses. Deb completed her first 12 months of nursing at the Sherbourne in Shepparton (now known as the Shepparton Private Hospital). Deb then worked at Cobram Hospital before accepting a position at Nathalia Hospital in 1995 Deb has worked in District Nursing and has been the team leader of DNS and Social Support Group for many years.

Deb has left a lasting legacy within NCN Health and particularly the Nathalia community and we will endeavour to do her proud. Congratulations on 39 years at NCN Health!

Pictured with Deb are her husband Alan and daughter Lisa, who has recently joined the District Nurse team at NCN Health.

New NCN Health CEO

Welcome Michelle Wyatt, NUM

Michelle Wyatt is the successful applicant for the role of Nurse Unit Manager (NUM), at Nathalia.

Mark Ashcroft joins NCN Health on June 17 as CEO.

Michelle brings with her large experience as a NUM in aged care. Michelle was previously the NUM of Irvin House for many years, recently she has also worked in Education and has been the Aged Care NUM reliever across NCN Health.

Dr Alwin Sun

Dr Alice Gubbins

DIETETICS SERVICE

Our Dietitians provide advice to help you learn how to manage your dietary, nutrition and health needs. We work closely with you to help you make decisions about what to eat to maintain good health, recover from illness or manage specific health conditions.

OUR SERVICES

Food Intolerance and Allergies

Diabetes

Weight Management

Hypertension

Disease Management

Healthy Ageing

Lifestyle Management

IBS

Eating Disorders Childhood Nutrition

To access the Dietetics service at NCN Health you can call the Access and Intake team who will book your appointment for you.

ACCESS AND INTAKE

Staff Profiles

Niamh Smith Niamh Smith

Meet Niamh Smith - one of NCN Health's resident Dietitians. Niamh has recently joined NCN Health after completing her University studies, and we are very lucky to have her on board. We sat down with Niamh for a chat (and a Coffee) to learn more about her.

? Being able to form relationships with others to promote dietary changes to help individuals to improve health outcomes and feel better

? The variety of things I do each day across outpatients, the acute ward and aged care. I love seeing such a range of patients for so many different reasons.

? Spending time with friends and family and playing netball.

? I’m currently reading the seven sisters book series and I always have some sort of

podcast like Shameless on the go.

ULTRASOUND & X-RAY OPENING HOURS

NCN Health has Ultrasound and X-Ray services available at Cobram and Numurkah campuses

Numurkah

ULTRASOUND X-RAY

Monday Tuesday Thursday 9:30am - 5:00pm 9:30am - 5:00pm 9:30am - 5:00pm

Cobram

ULTRASOUND X-RAY Monday - Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm

Monday & Thursday 9:30am - 5:00pm Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

*Wednesdays and Thursdays Alternate 9:30am - 3:30pm 9:30am - 3:30pm 9:30am - 3:30pm* 8:30am - 3:30pm* 9:30am - 3:30pm

To make an appointment contact the campus directly.

TheINFANTprogram(InfantFeeding,ActiveplayandNuTrition) isdesignedtohelpparentsandfamilieswithhealthyeatingand activeplayfromthestartoftheirbaby’slife.

INFANTconsistsoffourgroupsessionsfor parents/caregiversledbyanurseorhealth professional.Eachsessionisbasedonbabies needsaroundtheagesof3,6,9and12 months.

INFANTpromoteshealthyeating, increasedactiveplayandreduced screentimeforbabiesfrombirth until2yearsofage.

Parentshavecomeawayfrom sessionsfeelingmoreconfident knowingwhatbabyneedsateach stage,andthey'vemadenew friendswithotherparentsand babies.

SessionsareheldacrossCobram, NumurkahandYarrawonga.

Tofindoutmoreorbookin,scan theQRcodeorcontact mch@moira.vic.gov.au

LGBTIQA+

INCLUSION SURVEY

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Access the survey here

Help contribute to the new NCN Health LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Action Plan 2024-2027 by answering a couple of questions to help shape our plan.

At the NCN Health, we are on a journey to enhance the experience of our LGBTIQA+ patients, consumers and visitors.

We are committed to being a great place to work and a great place to receive care in an inclusive, safe and welcoming environment.

Lodge Fashion Parade

The Lodge held a very successful fashion parade recently The parade enlisted six very willing volunteer models who strut their stuff on the catwalk. Some models had their make up done, generously donated by Nay from ‘Little Tempus Skin and Beauty Clinic’. The Auxiliary took on board feedback from the last fashion parade to ensure there was a male model too. Some pieces of clothing were snapped up by the crowd very quickly as the model paraded. We thank Heather, Rosemary and the Auxiliary committee for their work behind the scenes to make this happen, the very yummy afternoon tea and opportunity for the public to mingle with the residents afterwards.

SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS

NCN Health, along with Valley Sport have been actively supporting the girls only lunchtime program at Numurkah Secondary College. This program brings girls together, in a safe supportive environment where they can explore sports, games and activities that they may not otherwise have experience with. Prior to launching the program the girls gave us a list of sports and activities they would be interested in trying. The girls are enjoying the lunch time activities and have commented on how nice it is to have this space just for them, without a competitive aspect or other students taking over.

Consumer Committee

Applications for the NCN Health Cobram and Numurkah campus Consumer Committees are open. We are seeking young community members who:

Have a genuine interest in or would like to learn more about local health care and community wellbeing Would like to contribute to the continued growth and improvement of our health and community services and residential aged care. Are able to meet bi monthly.

The role of the consumer committee member includes reviewing booklets and brochures, providing a community perspective on service delivery, providing feedback as required and more. Previous experience in health care roles is not necessary.

All consumer committee positions are voluntary.

To submit your interest: ncncommunications@ncnhealth.org.au

Consumer Story

Department: Planned Activity Group, District Nursing, Foot Care – Nathalia Campus. Consumer Consent Obtained from Robin Snelling on Friday March 15th.

Robin Snelling is a Nathalia resident who will celebrate her 80th birthday in July. Robin is originally from Melbourne, she moved to the region in 2007 and lives on her own. She does not have family in Nathalia.

Robin has been engaged with the Nathalia health service for a number of years and has used a variety of our services She is a regular member of the Planned Activity Group (PAG) which she says has had a very positive impact on her social connectedness and overall wellbeing.

“I have been coming to PAG for many years, before the new hospital was built. I originally met up with PAG after a stay in the Nathalia Hospital after I had a fall. We meet each Tuesday and I have not missed one this year. I was in respite at Numurkah (Pioneer Lodge Residential Aged Care) for three weeks over Christmas and was able to take the RFDS Patient Transport to PAG while I was there, which was great.”

Robin says the PAG group is a highlight of her week.

“Unless I have a doctor’s appointment or something like that, PAG might be my only activity for the week It’s a good way of communicating and socialising We often eat together and sometimes that is my main meal for the week.”

Robin highly recommends PAG to anyone who has been thinking about getting involved and says there’s something for everyone.

“PAG outings are wonderful, they take you on the bus and organise everything. Cheryl (Thorn) is terrific and there are a number of other volunteers. Next week we are off to the Fauna Park in Kyabram and we will have lunch with the meercats!”

NCN Health plays and important role in Robin’s overall support network District Nurses visit her once a week to assist with medication, checking on skin integrity and to generally assess how she is managing at home. Robin also attends the NCN Health footcare clinic regularly.

“I do have a good support network. The (NCN Health) staff come each week for a chat, I have MHA care come and help me with showering 3 times a week and a lass who comes and helps with shopping and finances. It is a good place to live.”

Consumer Story

Robin says these services are enough for now. She enjoys her own company. While she does not have children, she spends much of her spare time knitting for her honorary grandchildren who number in the many.

Pictured: Robin Snelling far left chatting with PAG participants during International Women’s Day celebrations.

Ambulance Cover

Didyouknowthat Ambulancetravelisnot freefromUrgentCare CentresandMedical Clinics.Thistravelisat yourowncost.

Illness/Accident Why

Canhappenatany time.Thisiswhyitis vitalyoulookat separateAmbulance Cover

Ifyoudonothave AmbulanceCoveryou couldbeexpectedto paythousandsof dollarsintheevent youneedtransportby Ambulance. Exceptionsmayapply forpensioncard holdersandsome PrivateHealthpolicies.

June

10th-16th June: Men’s Health Week

Mon 17th: Pioneer Lodge Auxiliary Meeting, 3pm

July

Wed 10th: Dharnya Day, Barmah National Park, 10am

Mon 22nd: National Payroll Day

Thurs 25th: Many Mobs Connection Bridge Walk, Yarrawonga

August

Wed 7th: Aged Care Employee Day

7th-13th: Dental Health Week