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August 2009 – Department of Human Services, Victoria, Australia

Community Services

Extra bite for child watchdog
Model youth justice worker retires
Babies in spotlight at early years forum
Giving grandparents legal recognition
Community service hubs provide support for bushfire survivors
Guide for grandparents who care for children

Metropolitan Health

Surgery record despite surging demand
Computer games help spinal cord injury patients
Hospital highlight for Jordyn
Funding boost helps Casey babies
Queen’s Birthday Honours for Alfred Health colleagues
Spotlight on children
Trial run takes the mystery out of MRI
Books for children tell dialysis story
Eye and Ear staff join Walk for Harmony crowd

General News

Long-term care for children with cancer

New book for children with cancer radiates the right stuff

Not-for-profit sector summit

CD provides natural family planning info

Leadership in limelight
New social inclusion course

Public Health

Taking steps to prevent diabetes
Diabetes self-help program for Stawell
Tobacco strategy wins medical association award
Aged Care
Aged care providers focus on emergency planning

Housing

Funds boost for social housing

Young Cooks at home to visitors
Drugs and Mental Health
Anti-cannabis campaign targets young
Project addresses physical wellbeing
Booklet helps young people bring black dog to heel
Push to change drink culture
Rural and Regional Health
Retrieval service set to expand
Albury Wodonga Health appoints inaugural Chief Executive

Disability Services

Young people on the employment pathway

Community Services

Extra bite for child watchdog

Victoria’s Child Safety Commissioner Bernie Geary will be given stronger powers to review cases involving child protection clients under new legislation introduced by the Government.

Model youth justice worker retires

The Victorian Youth Justice program will lose a staunch advocate for young Aboriginal people involved with the justice system when Yvonne Luke retires from the Department of Human Services at the end of August.

Babies in spotlight at early years forum

A ‘welcome baby to country’ ceremony was the highlight of an Aboriginal early years forum at the Lucknow Football Club rooms in East Gippsland.

Giving grandparents legal recognition

Grandparents caring for their grandchildren enrol them in kindergarten, sign school permission slips and give permission for medical procedures under a new State Government measure.

Community service hubs provide support for bushfire survivors

Community Services Minister Lisa Neville has opened long-term community service hubs at Hurstbridge and Whittlesea, saying they would provide important information and support as well as meeting places for the community as the post-bushfire rebuilding process continued.

Guide for grandparents who care for children

A forum hosted by the Department of Human Services, Grandparents Victoria and the Child Safety Commissioner brought together carers and professionals working in the area of kinship care.

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General News

Long-term care for children with cancer

In an Australian first, Victorian children with cancer will benefit from a long-term, $2 million-plus State Government program to guide their recovery and plan their future health care.

New book for children with cancer radiates the right stuff

Families facing the daunting task of preparing a child for radiation therapy have a new place to turn—the vibrant, cheeky pages of a book launched by the Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development Maxine Morand.

Not-for-profit sector summit

The Victorian Department of Planning and Development’s Office for the Community Sector is inviting representatives of Victoria’s not-for-profit sector to come together to plan for the future.

CD provides natural family planning info

The Ovulation Method Research and Reference Centre in East Burwood is providing Billings Ovulation Method Information Packs to Community Health and Maternal and Child Health Centres throughout Victoria to mark Natural Family Planning Week.

Leadership in limelight

The Department of Human Services has reaffirmed its commitment to Aboriginal staff with a leadership development program delivered by its Human Resources Branch.

New social inclusion course

The University of Melbourne is offering a professional development opportunity that provides a pathway to further education at the university.

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Public Health

Taking steps to prevent diabetes

More than 100 members of the Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative walked around the 2.5 kilometre perimeter of Lake Victoria in Shepparton to promote Diabetes Australia—Victoria’s campaign to prevent type two diabetes. 

Diabetes self-help program for Stawell

A diabetes self-management program established early last year has become part of Stawell Regional Health’s early intervention strategy for people with type two diabetes.

Tobacco strategy wins medical association award

The State Government has won a top award for its action on tobacco control.

Disability Services

Young people on the employment pathway

Southern suburbs residents with a disability are being assisted on the pathway to employment by a $3.9 million State Government funding boost.

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Metropolitan Health

Surgery record despite surging demand

A record 76,618 Victorians received elective surgery in public hospitals in the six months to the end of December, 2008, the latest Your Hospitals report shows.

Computer games help spinal cord injury patients

A study will test home-based online rehabilitation that enables spinal cord injury patients to regain hand movement through computer games.

Hospital highlight for Jordyn

Geelong teenager Jordyn Griffin has seen first-hand how she is helping build the new Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

Funding boost helps Casey babies

Families in Melbourne’s outer south east will soon have even better access to the best maternity services with planning and design well underway for the $4.2 million expansion of Casey Hospital’s special care nursery.

Queen’s Birthday Honours for Alfred Health colleagues

Alfred Hospital Director of Renal Services and Head of the Monash University Department of Medicine Professor Napier Thomson was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Spotlight on children

Southern Health has renamed its children’s service—Monash Children’s.

Trial run takes the mystery out of MRI

The Royal Children’s Hospital’s Educational Play Therapy and Medical Imaging Departments’ work preparing children for an MRI scan has been recognised internationally.

Books for children tell dialysis story

Two new books have been written to help children and their families learn about renal conditions and treatment.

Eye and Ear staff join Walk for Harmony crowd

Staff from the Eye and Ear Hospital participated in the 2009 Walk for Harmony.

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Aged Care

Aged care providers focus on emergency planning

About 350 participants from the aged care sector—including providers of residential aged care, home and community care and supported residential services—took part in an Emergency Planning and Management in Residential Aged Care seminar.

Housing

Funds boost for social housing

Housing Minister Richard Wynne has welcomed tenants into a newly-renovated home in Eaglehawk.

Young Cooks at home to visitors

Laura Cook, 13, and her brother Stephen, 11, had some surprise visitors to their new home recently.

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Drugs and Mental Health

Anti-cannabis campaign targets young

A new online campaign targeting young Victorians warns of the impacts of cannabis use on the brain.

Project addresses physical wellbeing

A groundbreaking project will boost access to vital health services for Victorians with a mental illness thanks to a $400,000 State Government funding increase.

Booklet helps young people bring black dog to heel

Walking the Black Dog by Ingi Barr is one of the few books for young people that deal with depression.

Push to change drink culture

Community groups with an innovative approach to tackling alcohol misuse at a grassroots level are being urged to apply for an inaugural Building Safer Drinking Cultures Innovation Grant.

Rural and Regional Health

Retrieval service set to expand

Adult Retrieval Victoria (ARV) is set to significantly improve retrieval services over the next three years after being given the go-ahead for its Service Improvement Plan.

Albury Wodonga Health appoints inaugural Chief Executive

Experienced health administrator Stuart Spring has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of newly-amalgamated Albury Wodonga Health.

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State Government Victoria

Updated 12 August 2009

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