Western District Health Service has continued to gain recognition for the quality of its work, winning a major healthcare award for the second year in a row.
Last year’s winner of the Premier’s Award for Regional health service of the year, Western District Health Service tonight won the Primary health service of the year at the Victorian Public Healthcare Awards. 
“The Victorian Government is taking action to deliver quality healthcare for all Victorians, and Western District Health Service serves some of the most remote rural communities in Victoria, with a range of innovative programs,” Mr Brumby said.
“The service has an excellent track record of participating in trial projects and pursuing innovative programs to benefits the communities it serves.
“Programs such as Sustainable Farm Families, the 10MMM youth project and GPs in Community Health are now recognized across the wider health industry.
“Sustainable Farm Families, used extensively since 2003 to monitor and intervene in the early detection and management of health problems, last year won Commonwealth support to extend the program to rural and remote areas throughout Australia. It has also gone on to be featured at international conferences in Canada and Italy.”
The significant primary health work of Western District Health was recognised this year by the Brumby Government through the provision of $2.4 million over four years towards the creation of a National Centre for Farmer Health in Hamilton, as apart of its $205 million Future Farming Strategy.
The National Centre for Farmer Health, being developed in conjunction with Deakin University Medical School, aims to improve the health and well-being of farm workers and their families across Australia through research, and education and training programs for rural health professionals.
The Victorian Public Healthcare Awards were established in 2005 to celebrate the dedication and expertise of the people who provide publicly-funded healthcare in Victoria.
Mr Brumby said the award categories seek to honour the best health services and reflect important areas of practice across the health spectrum, regardless of the setting, service or specialty.
With six categories plus the Minister’s and Premier’s awards, they offer healthcare agencies the opportunity to be recognised for their commitment to providing the best possible care to the people of Victoria.
“Representatives from health services, academia, non-government organisations and consumers judged the entries and the 95 judges, led by the Chair of Judging Dr Norman Swan, gave generously of their time and expertise to arrive at the finalists,” he said. |
