ballan district

Ballan District Health and CareAnnual Report 2013

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Building our thriving community.

Ballan District Health and Care

Annual Report2 0 1 3

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Lyn Gunnell 2007

(Board President)

Lyn has worked in the health industry for nearly 30 years. Working and networking with health professionals, service providers, and peak bodies has enabled Lyn to stay informed on current and future requirements for BDH&C.

Neil Eastwood 2007

(Senior Vice President)

A Board member since 2009 Neil has worked for Powercor for over 30 years and brings to the table extensive experience in civil engineering, infrastructure and surveying.

James Hay 1989

(Junior Vice President)

A Board member since 1989 James has executive management experience in the manufacturing industry. James also acts as a management consultant for risk assessment in the oil industry.

Ian Boyle 2002

(Treasurer)

Ian has been a long standing BDH&C Board member and, as a practising accountant with his own company, brings a wealth of financial experience to the table.

Robert Eskdale 1981

Robert has been a Board member for 31 years and is also a BDH&C Life Governor. In his professional life, Robert is a Consultant Engineer, Town Planner and Project Manager and operates his own business from Ballan.

Nick Sher 2013

Nick is Managing Director of Beefcorp Aust. a family owned farming company, marketing Sher Wagyu beef domestically and exporting to 15 countries. Nick was campaign Chairman for the BDH&C fundraiser “Building our Thriving Community” in 2008 - 2011.

Dr Anthony Mariampillai 2009

Dr. Anthony has been a devoted GP serving the Ballan community for over 25 years. Dr Anthony is also the BDH&C Medical Director and acts in an advisory position to the BDH&C Board.

Ken Tingate 2012

Ken is the Sergeant in Charge of Ballan Police Station and has wide community contact and knowledge across the Moorabool Shire. He has had a lifetime association with the medical facilities and services in Ballan.

Ann Hardwick 2009

Ann Hardwick has been a Board Member since 2009.

Ann’s areas of interest and expertise lie in the Arts, Real Estate and Travel industries.

Aaron Harnden 2013

A local mechanical design engineer and entrepreneur, Aaron joined the board in 2013 and brings a fresh perspective and an inquisitive mind. Aaron has a particular interest in realising improvements through the adoption of emerging technology and new business opportunities.

Board of Governance

• The opening of the newly constructed hospital that includes palliative care suite and radiology department.

• The opening of 2 publically funded hospital beds.

• The commencement of a $3.3million expansion to the Community Health Centre.

• The acquisition and operation of the 50 place, Ballan Community Child Care Centre.

• Over 200 people engaged in exercise programs, walking groups, healthy eating education sessions, community kitchens and community gardens.

• The appointment of a 5th Full time General Practitio ner.

• 2 new psychologists commenced.

• Over 65,000 occasions of service delivered across the entire organisation.

• Successful accreditation against the following:

1. ACHS Equip 6 (organisation wide)

2. Community Care Standards (Aged care packages)

3. AGPAL (General Medical Practice)

• Completion of student accommodation.

• Continuation and expansion of the Person-Centred Care project.

• Men’s Shed construction works commenced for residents of the aged care facility to use.

• The establishment of a costume hire facility within our Opportunity Shop, ‘Opportunity on Inglis’.

Key Highlights 2012/13

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Quality GovernanceAs part of our continued drive to improve our quality governance systems this year we will be moving to an electronic review system to enable Board education to form part of process. Both the Federal and State governments are placing an increasing emphasis on the ongoing development of Board Members and staff and BDH&C is committed to ensure we are in a position to make informed decisions by attending identified meetings, conferences and specific training sessions. We are also actively networking with other Boards and Health Services to share experiences and explore the future opportunities for Health Service deliverables.

Strategic PlanningIn February we held our Strategic Planning review session facilitated by an external consultant. This gave the Board and the Executive an opportunity to review our progress and to discuss the actions we need to consider and plan for to ensure a sustainable future.

As part of the Federal Governments Health reform with the focus to streamline the delivery of funding and services, many of you may be aware of the implementation of the Medicare Locals. Our geographic area is part of the Grampian’s Medicare Local region and we can advise that our Acting CEO and senior staff are representing us at these discussions to highlight our position and advise the Board of any changes or effects to funding or services.

Over recent months new Commonwealth Government policies have been released affecting the Aged Care funding and fees for service provision which strategically we will need to review. Over the last 12 months the Board, Acting CEO and Executive Staff have been exploring the funding opportunities to refurbish the older part of our Nursing Home and we will continue into the next year to achieve this goal.

Fund RaisingWe must also extend our continuing thanks to the Community Fundraising and Sub Committees for their never ending passion for raising funds and looking for every opportunity to continue to support the Health Service. We must acknowledge Anne Eskdale, Anne Hardwick, Joan Brunt, Anne Mariampillai, Amanda Molesworth and Triss O’Keefe for the amazing outcomes they have achieved over the previous years and the last 12 months. I would also like to mention our hard working auxiliary members and Op Shop team for all their efforts over the last year.

Hospital AssociationThe continuing support by the Membership of the Hospital Association continues to grow and the discussion during our special membership evening earlier this year was a clear indictor that the community feels confident to put forward ideas and ask questions. During our evening the plans for the new development extending the Primary Care Centre where displayed and discussed and we received highly valued feedback from members. This is your Health Service and every contribution is important to us.

Many of you may be aware that our CEO Glen Rowbotham has been away for an extended period with Board approval and Wendy Grayland was appointed to the Acting CEO position. The Board would like to acknowledge the work undertaken by Wendy and the senior managers, Jamie Brennan, Tracey Shirreff and all the staff during this time as they have been outstanding in their commitment and enthusiasm.

In my first year as President of the Board I would also like to acknowledge the contribution made by my predecessor James Hay for his invaluable contribution to the Health Service. James remains as an executive board member and we all value his wisdom and support.

Lyn GunnellBoard President

President’s Report

On behalf of the Board of Governance we are pleased to present this annual report providing a summary of activity during the past year and also recognising the generous support given to Ballan District Health and Care by our community. Directly or indirectly we continue to be focussed on providing the highest quality compassionate health care across our health service and to look to the future in positioning the Health Service to meet the many challenges through increased demand and a complex funding environment.

The past 12 months have again been exceptionally busy and productive and it is important to acknowledge the dedication of the Board Members who provided their skills, knowledge and experience to ensure the ongoing governance requirements are exceeded and the future strategic direction of the BDH&C is well positioned.

During this period we farewelled three long term Board members, Joan Brunt, David McFarlane and Gary Shaw and they take with them our gratitude for their valued contribution and energy over the years. We are pleased to welcome two new board members Aaron Harden and Nick Sher to the Board. We are also pleased to welcome Ken Tingate as a permanent Board member after

his ex-officio role for the past 2 years.

In appreciation I would like to thank the Board Executive Neil Eastwood, James Hay and Ian Boyle for their support, forward thinking and advice and the broader board members Robert Eskdale, Anne Hardwick, Ken Tingate, Aaron Harden, Nick Sher and our Honorary Medical Director Dr Anthony Mariampillai for their ability to look at the bigger picture undertake research and hardy discussions and importantly make decisions.

Major achievements to mention was the opening of the new Acute Hospital with the Honourable David Davis attending to cut the ribbon and talk about the inspirational achievements of BDH&C. Further to this was our long term goal of obtaining public beds for the hospital and partnering with Ballarat Health Service was a significant achievement and one that is acknowledged as an important model and achievement.

The Board also made the decision after consideration to take over the ownership of the Child Care Centre in Ballan and provide improved services to our community.

In May the Tenders for the extension to the Primary Care Centre closed and by the time this report is being finalised the foundations will have been commenced.

President’s Report

Vision

To be a dynamic leader in rural health care. Mission

We are committed to delivering high quality integrated health and wellbeing services.

Values

Care Collaboration Integrity Social Justice

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Community GroupsBallan Community HouseBallan Football & Netball ClubsBallan Hospital AuxiliaryBallan Hospital ‘Opportunity On Inglis’Ballan Lions ClubBallan Lioness ClubBallan Men’s GroupBallan Mens’ ShedBallan LegacyBallan & District Red CrossBallan Rotary ClubBallan RSL ClubBallan Senior CitizensBungal Arts DepotBallan & District Chamber of CommerceBallan CFA

Local BusinessesBlack Mountain WaterCrossroadsDennis Family HomesFlyine High MenswearGordon HotelGreendale HotelHendry Cycles

Hepburn SpaLandmark BallaratMill Rose CottageMoorabol ShireMoorabool NewsOmnibus ArtPeaceful RetreatSalvatore Regional ButcherSpringbank Football & Netball ClubSteve Burgin ContractingThe Plough MyrniongTrio Anima MundiW&D FinanceZirela Fashions

Trusts & FoundationsOrigin Local SaversAged Persons Welfare

IndividualsArklay RBarrett C&FBayles ABayne ABromell A&HBrunt G&JBowers RCarey B&K

Chapple SConroy F&MConroy D&MDavis E&JDebono FamilyDobson M&IEastwood FamilyEarle M&MEskdale R&AEstate of J DawsonFairfax JFeatherston R&GFegent DFogarty S&PFraser P&SGrage A&DHardwick AHay J&KHefferman MHiscos Y&PHodge WHoward GJoslin SKearns AKirby GKotzman DJohnson P&DLawrie James (in memory

of)Lazarus B&JLee FMarshall R&CMc Fall JNeigbours RParslow JRanken A&MRanken J&CRobertson H&BRobertson B&KRoxburgh TRowbotham GSavage HSeiger MShanahan MShanahan TSher N&VShearer B&JSlocombe GSwan ETaylor G&DToohey JWells G&JWoodhouse MWray M

The Board of Governance and staff of Ballan District Health & Care wish to acknowledge the following community members, groups, local businesses and philanthropic trusts for their generous support over the last 12 months.

Community Support

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

In November 2012 the new Ballan District Hospital commenced operation. This project was coordinated and designed by Morton Dunne architects and built by Page Constructions with support from the Victorian Government of $2 million. We were pleased to welcome the Hon. David Davis MP in February to officially open the new Hospital.

One of the most exciting stages in this project was at the interior

design phase. We conducted a competition with Interior Design students at North Melbourne Institute of Technology to design the interior colours and finishes for the hospital. Alison Lewis won this competition with her design based on the concept of the ANZAC and rural themes.

Since commencing as CEO of Ballan District Health & Care, Glenn Rowbotham has been passionate about lobbying for public beds for Ballan Hospital. In January his dream became a reality when we opened two public beds. This has now given the entire community access to acute services at Ballan Hospital for the first time.

Health and Hospital FundingBuilding works have commenced on the extension to the GP Super Clinic. When completed next year the expanded Ballan Centre for Community Health will provide 12 new consultation rooms; a gymnasium and hydrotherapy pool. These additional services will complement the services currently being provided. The community has given great support to the existing services with presentation numbers increasing each month. The gymnasium and Hydrotherapy pool will be available for public use during sessions when it is not being used for rehabilitation and therapies.

Community SupportWe are very grateful for the support from the Hospital Auxiliary who have again held a number of functions which allow us to purchase much needed equipment for our hospital. As detailed in the Auxiliary report a number of long standing members passed away this past year and are sorely missed.

The Hospital Fundraising committee continues to support the organisation through holding different events. They have agreed to take on the additional role of being a Consumer Reference Group giving the Quality Committee valuable feedback on services / publications / new initiatives from a Consumer point of view.

On behalf of the Ballan District Health & Care management team I would like to express my thanks to our community groups, businesses and individuals for their generous support. For a complete list of our supporters please refer to our Community Support page.

Board and Management TeamOur CEO Glenn Rowbotham commenced extended leave at the end of March and I stepped up to the position of acting CEO in his absence. I would like to thank the past-president of the Board James Hay; the present Board President Lyn Gunnell and Board members for their support in another year of major change and development.

I would also like to acknowledge the support from Tracey Shirreff Clinical Care Coordinator, Jamie Brennan Primary Care Manager especially in the past months in my new role.

The Board, Management, Staff and Volunteers are a group of people who show such enthusiasm, care and dedication in providing the local community of Ballan and district with health and care services the envy of many communities. So thank you all for your support and hard work.

Wendy GraylandActing Chief Executive Officer

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Katie our Case Managers.

We have been able to utilise respite in the residential facilities here at Ballan and this has assisted in enhancing the packages that we can deliver as clients are able to access allied health and medical assessments whist having a holiday in our facility.

The team has moved into newly renovated offices in an adjoining building to the hospital so they are able to keep in close contact with the other programs, to again encourage the integrated approach through all our programs.

The teams excellent work was highlighted with their successful accreditation against the new Community Care Common Standards

We would like to thank all of the staff for their support in the last year and praise them all for working so closely as a team which has resulted in exceptional care being provided to all residents, patients and clients.

Wendy GraylandActing CEO / Director of Nursing

Tracey ShirrefClinical Care Coordinator

2010 2011 2012 2013Hospital CareSeparationsEmergency Unit 407 422 325 498Acute Private 121 94 22 90Long Term (NHT) 0 0 0 47Total 528 516 347 631

Bed DaysAcute Private 874 744 213 707Long Term (NHT) 730 730 95 244Transitional Care N/A 1081 1525 3296Total 1604 2555 1833 4247

Aged CareBed DaysHostel Permanent 9950 9438 9459 8060Hostel Respite 488 421 402 446Hostel Boarders 730 730 729 0Total Hostel 11168 10589 10590 8506Nursing Home 7260 6560 6420 7037Nursing Home respite 88 201 95 190Total Nursing Home 7348 6761 6515 7227EACH packages 2374 3183 3189 3616CACP packages 10585 10207 10497 11640Total Package Days 12959 13390 13686 15256

Primary CareGPs 25218 34387Practice Nursing/ Allied Health 9994 3228

Dental Care 2208 1618Total Primary Care 37420

Clinical Care Statistics

Acute CareThe opening of our hospital beds in early November was a highly anticipated event for staff, residents and the community. During the rebuilding, limited services from the hospital were available and staff & residents rose to the challenge of working and

living in cramped conditions. Staff during the building process often made comments that we couldn’t possibly use all the additional storage space created but have since made great work of all areas. The demands on our 2 public beds and additional private beds have steadily increased since the official opening of the hospital in February of this year. This meant the employment of additional staff who have a variety of experience in rehab, ICU, paediatrics, medical/surgical & Aged Care.

We acknowledge and are appreciative of the support of the Ballarat Health services staff with the opening and ongoing running of the Public Acute beds.

All of the community are now able experience personalised care in their own community, often under their own GP.

Transitional CareThere has been an increased demand in the occupancy in the Transitional Care Program (TCP) with many of the referrals coming from our own acute admissions. This enables patients to move in a seamless transition through different levels of care. The Transitional Care program provides additional support and rehabilitation with the goal of enabling people to return to living in their own home. If this is not possible then clients are able to move into residential care at their maximum capabilities.

We would like to thank the team of Monika as co-ordinator, Shane providing Registered Nursing assessments, Faye and Kylie as Allied health assistants, Colleen as casual Allied Health assistant who is now going to go on to obtain her qualifications in this area, who have provided outstanding support for the clients in this program.

Aged Care Residential Care in the Nursing Home has been a challenge over the past twelve months due to the Hospital redevelopment. The new environment highlights the need for a “make over” in the Nursing Home and our goal in the next twelve months will be to raise funds to renovate this area.

The Board of Governance have supported the adoption of the “Person Centred Care” philosophy across the entire organisation. A large focus in the past year has been on educating families to this philosophy prior to their loved ones being admitted. The residents are encouraged to choose what to participate in, when to get up and what to wear. The installation of a new kitchenette in the Hostel dining room has facilitated this choice for the residents as they can now make breakfast or snacks at any time of the day or night.

The Palliative Care team has grown in strength with the opening of a dedicated Palliative Care room which is available for both Public and Privately insured patients which, with the improved and additional equipment has provided greater comfort for the Palliative patients. We have been supported by the “Love is in the Air” fundraising dinner and other donations to fit out this room so that families are now able to share the final days with their loved one, sleeping over if they wish.

District NursingThe District Nursing team of Shane, Anne, Gayle and Melissa continue to provide care to clients throughout the West Moorabool Shire. The team works closely with case managers in CACPS, EACH and Transitional Care as well as allied health providers, doctors and the acute and aged care areas. This again gives clients who require District Nursing services an integrated team approach which enhances the care that they receive.

CACPS/EACH30 CACP and 10 EACH packages are provided from our base in Ballan to the Moorabool Shire, Hepburn Shire and City of Ballarat. There has been a high occupancy rate in the past year which has been due to the hard work of Monika as Community Care Coordinator and Debbie and

Acute, Aged & Residential Care Report

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What a diverse fundraising year it has been!!

The completion of Ballan’s redeveloped hospital was a huge milestone for Ballan and one that was made possible by the generosity of the community through the 4 year ‘Building our Thriving Community’ campaign.

This campaign raised close to $400,000 and held us in good stead for the success of other grants.

Fundraising Events

1. The Plough Palliative Care Inaugural Dinner August 2012 / 100 Guests. Raised $14,000

We are grateful to Mark, his amazing staff and all the suppliers who donated their goods and services to help us raise $14,000 for Ballan’s new Palliative Care suite. This was indeed, a very special and memorable evening and Mark has graciously offered to host this evening as a future Annual Event.

2. The Ballan Cycling Classic – November 2012 / 100 Riders. Raised $3,000

Due to time restraints, this event has been earmarked to become a Bi-Annual Event or partner

with another organisation.

3. Hospital Annual Ball – May 2013 ‘Singapore Swing’ / 100 Guests Raised $3,500

Whilst this will be the last of our formal balls as we have come to know them. Discussions are underway for a possible ‘Op Shop Ball’ in 2014. The Fundraising Committee felt that in today’s economic climate having 2 ‘big ticket’ fundraising events didn’t reflect the social needs of the community in general. Any of our new and exciting events will be sure to impress, with always a major emphasis on the ‘Dress and the Dancing’!!!

4. Ballan Football & Netball Club Trivia Night – June 2013 / 90 Guests . Raised $5,000

We were thrilled when the Ballan Football & Netball Clubs approached us to be the recipient of their inaugural Trivia Night. It was a great opportunity for us to connect with the younger members of the community in helping to promote the social and health benefits of exercise. We thank the BFNC and we hope we can do it again in 2014!

Any fundraising event is a joint effort and I would like to personally thank the tireless efforts of the BDH&C Fundraising Committee and the Auxiliary Ladies for their passion and support . Their united volunteer efforts are a true reflection of the compassion that is felt for Ballan District Health & Care.

Current Projects seeking funding for :1. Nursing Home Redevelopment $529K

2. Mens Activity Shed $10K

3. Enclosure Of Dementia Sunroom $40K

Securing Government & Philanthropic funding for the $500,000 Nursing Home redevelopment is proving very difficult as it is predominantly seen to be of a Capital Work nature. Many seeds have been planted and political Advocacy Kits distributed. Exploring new avenues for funding potentials.

Grants to Date:$3,500 Origin Local Savers for the purchase of new air conditioning units

Awaiting responses from other grant submission which are in the pipeline.

As a community owned and operated organisation, it is very important that BDH&C stays connected with the very community it serves. As Ballan is limited in ways to advertise or promote events and new services, we have found that our fortnightly column ‘In Touch’ in the Moorabool News provides a perfect platform for us to keep our communities informed.

Community House & BDH&C ‘Health Program’ Newsletter PartnershipWe are proud to announce our new ‘Community House’ Newsletter partnership. Our ‘Community Health Programs’ will now be incorporated into the Community Houses Newsletter which is distributed 4 times and reaches over 3,000 residents. Ballan District Health & Care is contributing by printing the B&W newsletters in-house. We believe it is a great collaboration and initiative between two significant local ‘Not for Profits’ working together for the benefit of the wider community.

BDH&C Newsletters The BDH&C Newsletters has proven to be a financial success raising $1,500 to date. It is anticipated that 2 issues per annum will be distributed to our 130 staff members, our residents and to the general community. These Newsletters will ensure that our public/s are kept up to date with all new services, programs & facilities available.

New Website - ‘Under Construction’BDH&C’s new website which is ‘Under Construction’ is nearing completion. We envisage that the first Stage will be up and running by early September 2013. The main objective is to direct all general enquiries to the appropriate facilities and give a description of each of the many services and facilities available.

The 4 main categories are :

1. Hospital / Urgent Care & Administration

2. Centre for Community Health

3. Aged Care

4. Community C hild Care Centre

Triss O’KeefePublic Relations and Fundraising Manager

The Auxiliary has been responsible for organising a number of very successful fund-raising events during the past year. The largest of these was the annual Mother’s Day High Tea held on 10 May 2013 and run with the help of friends from the Red Cross. This was considered to be the most successful High Tea yet with 110 persons attending and $2,300 being raised for the hospital. Another notable function was the annual Casserole Luncheon attended by 80 persons with funds being raised through entry fees and the auxiliary-run stall. At this function, a raffle was drawn with the prizes including a painting donated by local artist, Ms Jessie Strawbridge, and two hand-made quilts donated by Ms Vikki Boka. A big thank you to both Jessie and Vikki for their support and generosity. Other fund-raising initiatives included the Spring and Autumn Blumes Fashion Expo, the Ballan Lionesses Sausage Sizzle, the ongoing sale of Family Chocolates (which raised $1,298 over 12 months) and a Christmas raffle which had as first-prize a rocking horse donated by former Auxiliary President, Heather Bush. Mention should also be made of the ongoing support the auxiliary has continued to receive from valued sponsors Pama Motors and the Moorabool News. Auxiliary also wishes to thank Pam Musgrove for her years of support.

During the past year several long-standing members of the Hospital Auxiliary passed away. We acknowledge the sad loss of Joyce Blakemore, Mary Lorensini, Brian Foley, Pleasance Conroy and former Auxiliary President, Heather Bush. They each gave many years of valued service to the hospital and will be missed. Acknowledgement is also made of the passing of Guenther Kruegar who, with his wife Marty, has been a long term volunteer and supporter of the hospital. New

members of the auxiliary include Dawn Rumble and Kaye Parke. Auxiliary membership currently stands at 14 with new members always welcome.

Total funds raised by the auxiliary during the year was $6,576 thanks to the tireless efforts of all our members, and supported by our friends in the Red Cross who kindly supported the auxiliary’s fund-raising efforts in so many ways. Funds raised have allowed the hospital to acquire much needed equipment including a Baxter Infusion Pump ($3,600) - which patients previously travelled to Ballarat to access - and an Eclipse Care Chair ($3,325) used to assist in the care of Nursing Home residents. Without the combined effort of many people working together we couldn’t have raised such a significant sum and made such a significant contribution to the hospital.

In closing, I would like to acknowledge former Auxiliary President, Heather Bush, who passed away in January 2013. Heather gave 15 years of devoted service to the Ballan Hospital Auxiliary and during this period helped raise in excess of $100,000 enabling the hospital to purchase much needed medical equipment which is still being used today. Heather was a tireless contributor and most generous supporter of the Hospital. Her enthusiasm was infectious often providing the impetus for members to “go the extra mile” in their fundraising support for the hospital. Heather will be greatly missed by the Auxiliary and the whole Ballan Hospital community, and her legacy of good will, generosity and genuine community spirit will be remembered with thanks for years to come.

Jackie WetzlerBallan Hospital Auxiliary President

Hospital Auxiliary Report

Fundraising & Public Relations Report

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Women’s Cancer Support Groups has been thriving in Ballan for the past 12 months. Celebrating it first anniversary the support group has played host to a range of local and visiting guest speakers.

Emergency Relief & Community Assistance Services - 2013The Emergency Relief and Community Assistance Services have experienced an increase of 10% in demand in 2012 – 2013 from Ballan and district residents experiencing hardship.

There has also been increased demand for affordable housing with limited supply available to Centrelink recipients.

Many socially isolated residents have been linked into volunteering programs and referred to the Community Kitchen, Community Garden and Community House. These referrals have contributed to participants ‘sense of belonging, strong social inclusion and improved wellbeing’.

Referrals to drug and alcohol services, emergency housing, legal, aged and palliative care have all increased throughout the past twelve months.

The Food Relief Program continues to provide families with non-perishable food; school lunches and nutritious snacks and remains very popular. A huge thank you to the Food Relief volunteers for their hard work and dedication maintaining and replenishing stock.

A very special thank you must go to Sarah Springfield for her continued efforts in assisting residents with household items/aid from ‘Opportunity on Inglis’.

Sincere thanks are also extended to everyone for their generous donations of children’s gifts for our Christmas Wishing Tree appeal. Christmas was a very joyful time for the children with ages ranging from infants to teenagers.

Further thanks also, to our Red Cross community for providing hand knitted Trauma Teddies. These Teddies continue to provide comfort to people of all ages who have experienced personal difficulties and are received with overwhelming gratitude.

Opportunity on Inglis- the Year that Was!What a great twelve months the op shop has had! One of exciting change and growth!

We have extended our community services by providing a fabulous new fancy dress hire section to our ever expanding retail outlet. We have also focused on furniture in the last twelve months with a fantastic array of vintage and antique pieces for sale which have attracted people from as far as Melbourne and Geelong. “Opportunity on Inglis” has definitely become a destination.

The op shop has also initiated a joint project with the Department of Justice and Ballarat University working together to construct outdoor furniture to sell at the op shop with 100% proceeds going to the hospital. The Adirondack chairs are an American style wooden fan back chair that would suit any décor. The project is also looking to expand into pot plant holders, garden benches and wooden decorative crates. Look out for them in our shop window!

The donations we receive are greatly appreciated and the local community have given generously this year with high quality clothes, bric-a-brac, books etc to keep our shop turning over and supplying Ballan District Health and Care with much needed funds.

Our volunteers have worked extremely hard this year with their positive attitude and willingness to get the job done, we have achieved many things this year that would not have happened without our volunteers, thank you for all your hard work!

The Primary and Community Health team and BDH&C has had another outstanding year in 2012-13 with consolidation of a number of programs following a period of what has been exceptional and rapid growth. BDH&C now provide over 25+ different primary and community health services to the residents of Ballan and surrounding areas.

The focus of the Primary and Community Health team at BDH&C continues to be on the provision of high quality primary health, health promotion and allied health services across our catchment area.

This year the team provided 51,248 individual occasions of service (an increase of 18% on 2011-12)

A huge success over the last 12 months was the commencement of construction to expand the Community Health Centre to include a warm water exercise and hydrotherapy pool, a gymnasium and also a number of additional consulting rooms to provide space for more doctors, more allied health staff and more students. This project is due to be complete in April 2014.

BDH&C has maintained its strong commitment to partnerships throughout this year. As part of this partnership approach we have undertaken a number of projects with the Moorabool Shire, such as our Healthy Communities Initiative that has seen numerous health and wellbeing programs delivered to over 200+ people with a chronic disease, and the HACC funded Strengthening Partnerships at Moorabool (SPAM) ensuring that a ‘person centred’ approach is embedded across all our services. BDH&C has also strengthened partnerships with Djerriwarrah Health Service that has allowed us to deliver increased hours of Speech therapy, Diabetes Education and Continence Nursing.

Health PromotionOver the past 12 months the health promotion programs have gone from strength to strength, working in partnership with the Moorabool Shire Council to provide Ballan and surrounding areas with community health

programs focusing on living a healthy lifestyle.

Collaborating with our Occupational Therapist, Anna Yeatman, to deliver Beat It has been beneficial and it has become a much sought after exercise program within the community. More than 30 community members have been involved over the past 6 months with Beat It with more projected over the coming months.

With a focus centralised around engaging in healthy lifestyles, many community groups have been involved in the Eat Well for Life program, which encourages community members to eat healthy and partake in physical activity. Community Kitchens has also been a rapid success with the benefit becoming more widely recognized in both Ballan and Blackwood. The Ballan Kitchen is now community owned and run with much thanks to Leone Fabre for continuing to oversee and assist with the facilitation of the group. The members have taken initiative to develop their own Twitter account and Facebook page which currently has over 80 members and continue to determinedly promote the successes of the Ballan Kitchen, including providing free tasting at the Ballan Farmer Market.

The Ballan Community Garden has continued to flourish over the past 12 months, thanks to the support from the ‘friends’ of the garden, Friday Morning Disability group and more recently the children from Ballan Community Child Care Centre. Recently, the Ballan Community Garden has been successful in securing funding to build a community pizza oven. This will provide Ballan with a gathering point that will be available all year round for bookings by the whole community.

Over the past 12 months health promotion has been successfully implemented into the Ballan Community Child Care Centre with a Healthy Lifestyle program being established for children aged 3-5 years. This hands-on program builds on children skills and knowledge of cooking, eating, physical activity, gardening and sustainability.

The success of women’s health clinics over the past 12 months has seen an increase in demand for the service, which has resulted in regular monthly clinics been made available with women’s health nurse, Debbie Bruce. In conjunction with these programs, a highly sought after

Primary and Community Health Services

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Ray and Mary have been long term resident’s in Mt Wallace and were very active and supportive of local community and sporting groups.

Ray tells how he has had a long association with the hospital as both his father and mother were treated at the Ballan & District Soldier’s Memorial Hospital.

Ray was one of the first clients to attend Community Health when it was introduced to Ballan District Health & Care (BDH&C) in 2001. He attended with Mary for Diabetes Education and commenced using the Podiatry and Dietician services.

When Mary had a stroke 6 years ago she was sent back to BDH&C after her acute episode to be admitted to Residential Care. The nurses were determined to give her the best chance of returning home, they spent many hours doing Brain Gym exercises with her and, with the support of the Physiotherapy staff they helped her relearn to walk. Her marked improvement was enough to encourage St John of God hospital to accept her back for a formal Rehabilitation program.

With the support of her family, Ray as her carer and an EACH package run out of BDH&C, Mary was able to return home. An OT from BDH&C assessed the home and arranged home modifications and the District Nurses made regular visits to supports Ray.

During their time at home Ray and Mary continued to access the services provided by BDH&C, including: Chronic Disease Nurse, podiatrist, dietician, GPs, pathology, practice nurse, acute hospital admissions, respite care and district nursing.

When they were no longer able to cope at home Ray and Mary entered Residential Care at BDH&C. Although assessed at different levels of care, admission to a double room in the Ballan Nursing Home has allowed Ray and Mary to stay together.

Ray and Mary’s story is a great example of how the breadth of services at BDH&C can allow people to move seamlessly through different programs and allow for holistic care at all the stages of their care needs.

Hi there, my name is Sue Chapple and I have been a Registered Nurse for about 35 yrs. (a golden oldie!!!!). I have been at Ballan health care for almost 6 years.

I took over the role of Clinical educator after obtaining my Cert IV in Assessment & Training, and now work as clinical educator 2 days per

week and have relished the challenge that this role provides. I feel that we have been able to offer a more diverse education program and this is reflected in the numbers of staff that are attending our education sessions.

I hope that my enthusiasm and enjoyment at working here at Ballan Health Care has a roll on effect and comes across in my education role

Sessions have included CPR, Cardiac Monitoring, Triage, Elder Abuse, Medication Management, Observation taking for PCA’s, Continence Issues, Wound Management, Documentation, Palliative care etc. The feedback from the learners has been extremely positive with no criticism documented.

We have had a busy year with our students and again have received positive feedback from their time spent with us, and we have employed some students in a PCA role whilst they continue their nursing studies. We currently have 5 educational facilities that we are providing student placements to, and are now able to offer on-site accommodation to our nursing and medical students.

Sue ChappleClinical Educator

General Medical PracticeThe past 12 months has seen another exceptionally busy year for the Medical Practice within Ballan Community Health. Due to increased demand and consistent increases in patient presentations we have continued to open for extended hours each night of the week and also Saturday mornings.

We welcomed Dr David Llewellyn to our clinic fulltime in October and he is a valuable addition to our GP team. He joined Dr Anthony Mariampillai, Dr Aparna Nedunuri, Dr Mina Gurgius and Dr Rohana Welikumbura. We also have Dr John Lamont who fills in when our doctors are on leave. All of our doctors have worked tirelessly to provide exceptional care and support to our patients.

We have seen a few changes to the reception area and team and farewelled Chris Creaney and Jade Manson who were long serving members of our admin team and will be greatly missed by all. Due to these farewells, we welcomed three highly experienced new members to our admin team, Rebecca Smits, Janet Waldron and Maria-Anna Haber. These new staff members, together with Elaine Jenkins and Kelly Thistlethwaite, work exceptionally hard to maintain the central admin hub of the Community Health Centre.

We also welcomed a new part-time practice nurse, Victoria Cullen, to our clinic to work alongside our fulltime practice nurse, Nuala Beattie. The two nurses work together very well and compliment the doctors to provide an extremely high level of clinical care to all our patients. These two

practice nurses compliant Debbie Bruce who works as a Community Health nurse within the practice, completing care plans for patients with complex health conditions, linking these patients into other services and also running a number of nurse led clinics such as women’s health clinics, and outreach clinics to blackwood.

A thank you needs to be given to all staff within the General Practice including doctors, nurses and reception staff for their dedication and support to the clinic and the exceptional care they provide their patients.

Allied Health2012-13 saw a record year for the number and type of allied health services delivered through BDH&C. BDH&C provide a comprehensive range of allied health services. Our services include Dentistry, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry, Social Work, Counselling, Psychology, Dietetics, Audiology, Orthodontics and Optometry, Diabetes Education, Speech Pathology, Continence Nursing, Sleep Studies and Massage Therapy.

Jamie BrennanPrimary Care Manager

Ray and Mary’s StoryClinical Education

Primary and Community Health Services Continued

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CleaningThe cleaning team has expanded this year as they have included the childcare centre into their workload. As usual the existing team welcomed and integrated new team members with great enthusiasm.

The cleaning team continues to amaze not only every external assessor that comes through the door, but also the staff and residents within the facility.

They have turned what could be a mundane job into a vibrant team who generate their own audit and quality systems, but also continually review their work schedules to ensure that their work is not only of an exceedingly high standard, but that their work practices are safe. Their active participation in the OH&S committee is much appreciated.

Danielle, Melissa and Gary have been a welcome addition to the team.

LaundryLooking after 55 individual people’s clothes is a daunting task which Christine undertakes with great enthusiasm. Christine also provides a great support in her caring role, especially during breakfast and Lunch times in the Dementia Unit

It is great to know that the resident’s personnel clothing is in such caring hands, as Chris goes the extra distance with hand washing when needed, ironing and mending clothing when required.

CateringSodexo has expanded this past year in providing the food to the Ballan Community Childcare centre, additional catering for both the organisation and for individual residents and their families.

The Chef Manager Mary is very supportive of the organisation, responding to catering requests with great enthusiasm, and is always looking to improve the services offered.

We look forward to continue to work in partnership with Sodexo to provide high quality food services into the future.

MaintenanceOnce again Andrew Parke has provided a high standard of scheduled and responsive maintenance.

He has had a challenging year which we acknowledge and thank him for as he juggled new projects with his routing maintenance tasks.

Andrew has been assisted by Brian who keeps the lawns in an immaculate condition and is a welcome assistant to Retirement Unit residents and to the organisation in keeping the gardens looking so welcoming. Wet days can see him helping out with any maintenance tasks required.

Peter has supported Andrew by providing relief for him during his leave and during periods of peak workload, painting rooms, and general maintenance and coordination of contractors.

A dedicated team of volunteers assist with special projects and general maintenance, and we must make special mention of our work experience student Tom who has grown in skills and confidence as he works towards his VCAL certificate.

Andrew and Peter along with Anne were an active participants in the Occupational Health & Safety committee, held the position of OH&S representatives and participated in many Quality projects this year.

AdministrationWe welcomed Maxine into the administration area this year. Maxine has provided tremendous support to the managers and is providing much needed support in the Hospital with her growing role as a ward clerk. Her patience and diligence are really appreciated. Roni continues to complete the payroll for us each fortnight with amazing accuracy. She has added the job of Medical Coder to her portfolio and is a great support to the managers with her flexibility and approachability. Narelle, with the support of Brian’s data entry and Sue’s (accountant from SEEK accounting) oversight, has kept the financial area ticking along with great accuracy. She has also provided wonderful support to the management team and to the board in preparing such accurate financial reports.

Well done to all staff in the Support services area. You are all certainly vital pieces in the jigsaw puzzle that makes the complete picture for our community

Childcare Centre

Ballan Community Childcare Centre is one of the most recent acquisitions of Ballan District Health & Care, having officially come on board in July 2012.

At that time, the Centre required immediate attention to the facility and grounds and we have met that challenge head

on. Improvements to the Centre have been extensive and BDH&C has invested a substantial amount of funds on major refurbishment projects such as the installation of shade sails, painting throughout the entire building and refreshing tan bark and sand in the children’s play areas.

BDH&C has been committed to creating a valuable community asset with an excellent reputation as a quality service for residents of Ballan and the surrounding district and with that in mind, we plan to continue with improvements to the facilities and the programs offered with the installation of storage options for outdoor equipment and creating an aesthetically pleasing and inviting playground for the children attending the Centre. Other plans include a commitment to creating a sustainable practice of “recycle, reuse and repurpose” which will focus on reducing the amount of waste from Centre practices.

Since the beginning of 2013, bookings have continually increased and the Centre utilisation is consistently running at a high percentage. We believe that this can be attributed to the change of ownership in conjunction with the rapidly growing community which is placing an increased demand on local services and we can happily claim that we are meeting that demand.

Sodexo Catering Services have expanded their operations to include the Childcare Centre and now provide a healthy and varied menu that offers children access to 50% of their recommended daily nutritional intake. Menus have been designed and approved by

dieticians from both Sodexo and BDH&C in order to meet this goal. Training for educators in this area is continuing and the centre is also registered to undertake “Healthy Together Victoria” accreditation, which is a State government initiative supporting early educations and care services to create healthier environments and provides recognition for the achievements in promoting the health and wellbeing of children in our care.

The Centre is working to link families and children with the comprehensive services offered by BDH&C and have accessed dentals services, health professionals and community organisations in order to provide a holistic service that supports and promotes a healthy lifestyle for our children. We have implemented a “Healthy Living Program” teaching children about the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle, including selecting healthy food options, to exercise and growing our own fruit and vegetables, incorporating visits to the Community Garden and planting our own seedlings.

BDH&C has an ongoing commitment to professional development and is supporting educators to seek to upgrade their qualifications and invest time in increasing their knowledge and expertise in order to provide a quality service to families of the area. In 2013 we have employed four new qualified educators and have organised traineeships for three of our educators to complete a Diploma level qualification over the next twelve months. Educators have also attended training in areas of OH&S, Educational Leadership, and First Aid.

With the help of Jamie Brennan, Primary Health Manager, and Ross Simpson, Quality Manager, extensive reviews of current policies have been undertaken and as a result we have created and implemented comprehensive new policies that satisfy minimum standards of both BDH&C and Government regulatory bodies.

Glenda FentonChild Care Coordinator

Support Services Report

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The year 2012 – 2013 has gone quickly as usual. The days are filled up with activities for the residents as well as for the staff. We celebrated the football finals in September 2012, bringing to a close the football-tipping, which is hotly contested by many of the residents!

Residents enjoyed interacting with children from Ballan Community Childcare Centre, and with baby animals, during the visit of Lee’s Farm Yard Friends to BDHC. Lambs were cuddled, baby piglets patted, and chooks were chased with lots of laughter and excitement by the children. Residents enjoyed the smiles and laughter.

The 2nd visit to the Werribee Open Range Zoo was especially enjoyed by all as we caught a glimpse of the new gorilla in his new environment and the hippo having a mud bath. We also dressed up in our finest race gear for the Oak’s Day in November, and had a wonderful luncheon complete with a bookie and prizes for the Best Dressed, Best Hat, Smartest Male etc.

In November we also had a Service of Remembrance for the residents who had passed away over the last year. This was our 2nd year of hosting an ecumenical service with all the churches in Ballan taking part, and attended by some of the relatives and friends of the residents who are no longer with us. Children from St. Brigid’s Primary School sang and sprigs of Rosemary were handed out to all those who attended.

7 Residents and 5 carers enjoyed their trip away to Phillip Island staying once again at Wheelies Rest, sightseeing and braving the elements and staying up for the Penguin Parade where we had great seating arrangements next to the walkway that penguins use to reach their nest.

The resident activities program continues with the exercise sessions going very well, often rounded-out with a walk around the car park at least once or, if it is raining, then up and down the passages once or twice. The quizzes are always a popular way to spend a winter afternoon.

Each Monday afternoon during the school term students from St. Brigid’s join us for Bingo. They help the residents who are hard of hearing or find it hard to see the Bingo sheets, and at the same time they have the opportunity to get to know some of the residents and to become familiar with being amongst older people. The residents enjoy having the young ones helping them and joining in with the game. Our thanks go to the St Brigid’s students for their enthusiasm and

to the staff for organising the visit rosters each week.

Our weekly lunch outings are looked forward to, and the search for new places to visit has led us to towns such as Kyneton, Williamstown, Werribee and Geelong, as well as visiting many of our favourite places nearer to home. We still have the Community Visitors Scheme in action, which gives residents - who don’t have a great many visitors - someone to get to know and to chat with on a regular basis. And planning is underway for construction of the Men’s Shed for our male residents to enjoy each other’s company and work on projects with our male staff.

As always it must be mentioned that none of this would be possible without the untiring help of our wonderful band of volunteers. They attend regularly on their respective days, and never tire of helping and encouraging the residents to enjoy themselves in whatever activity has been planned for the day. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all of them.

We welcome Chris Creaney who has been inspirational with our Art and Craft group. Also to Gabriel in providing mental stimulation for our competitive Cross Word Ladies group. And we would like to thank Alan Pearson and his wife for the contribution of laptop and iPad for residents to communicate with family and friends; and for providing instruction in the use of email and Skype.

An important part of our day is getting to know some of the resident’s families and helping them with any problems or queries they may have. This becomes more important as the end of life draws near, and we assist them through this difficult period. Whilst our main priority is the care of the resident, supporting the family members is also very important. Our Palliative Care volunteers are always on call, and can be relied upon to be discrete and supportive when needed.

We have a wonderful group of carers at BDHC who will often join in with the activities that are taking place. This always makes the activities far more interesting for the residents and more fun as well.

Person-centred care is a strategy that is being employed throughout the facility. This places greater emphasis on the needs and abilities of each resident. This has been working very well in the Dementia Unit especially, enabling the residents to benefit from meaningful activities assisted by staff and volunteers.

To finish, we must once again emphasise the importance of the input received from staff and volunteers. They are a wonderful asset and the Diversional Therapy Program and Activities Program are the richer for it.

Lily TestaDiversional Therapist

Amanda MolesworthActivities Assistant

Diversional Therapy & Activities Report

It’s been a busy 12 months for the “GEEKS” I mean IT department, along with the opening of the new acute care facility, there has been numerous enhancements to the way in which electronic information is delivered to its clients. The new acute care building bought challenges to ensure all systems were ready to

function for the opening, including the new Infotainment systems, nurse call, new network infrastructure and the delivery of medical specialist software to the desktops of all nursing and allied health staff. It’s now been some 10 months and all systems are go!

Ballan Health has gone through a lot of changes over the last 12 months since I wrote my last report. Some of these changes were to improve all of the IT infrastructure and bring it into the 21st century.

The virtualization of all physical servers.

• All of the new and existing server that the organization operates were moved to a virtual environment. This was done as a cost benefit to the organisation which also reduced down time in the event of failure.

Upgrade of Physical hosts and Storage

• The existing hardware came out of its 6 year cycle for warranty this year and needed to be replaced. This was a major task as most of it was done after hours to reduce downtime for the super clinic.

Migration of Medtech specialist software to a virtual platform.

• The Medtech physical server was also due for replacement and to reduce cost of a new server to the organisation this server was virtualized. This also helped reduce the afterhour’s monthly database consolidation upgrades to the software.

Upgrade the networking infrastructure to gigabit across the network

• As the data requirement for Ballan Health increases so does the need to for higher speeds and bandwidth. The organisation now has full gigabit wire speed to all of its peripherals.

Integrate an IP phone system into the organisation

• BDH&C is now running a fully functional IP phone system, with the implementation of this system also comes the ability to apply other services like VOIP (cheaper phone calls) and departmental billing as well as other applications that could not be achieved under the old system.

Connection to the National Broadband Network.

With the additional bandwidth requirements of the new X-ray facility, Manage My Health and the implementation of the federal governments Electronic Health Records the IT department tried to establish a connection in Ballan with the NBN. The NBN isn’t planned to be implemented in Ballan until after 2017. In conjunction with a local supplier Ballan Health has connected to the NBN via a microwave pipe into Bacchus Marsh. As the bandwidth requirements grow so can the organization.

What’s installed for the future, well as people get busier they don’t have time to get sick so the sky’s the limit, imagine patients being able schedule their own appointments via the internet or their iPhone app, Video conference with the doctor or nurse form home or work. Organise repeat scripts and have them delivered to the pharmacy without waiting in line. The ability to manage sugar levels, blood pressure from home and have them available online for the doctor to go through. Well I would like to say that this is all in the future but to be honest it’s all happening now, the next 12 months will be I’m sure as exciting as the past. Watch this space and thanks from the IT GEEK.

Alan PearsonInformation Technology Manager

Information Technology Report

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Ballan District Health & Care (BDH&C) has experienced considerable growth in the depth and breadth of its service-

offering in recent years. With this growth and change there has been a need to focus on the operations of the business to ensure the systems, processes and structures are adequate to support the delivery of high quality services. As part of this focus, a significant effort continues to be made to ensure that BDH&C quality, safety and risk management programs are appropriately resourced to meet internal quality and policy parameters, and to ensure compliance with the requirements of all external accreditation systems.

The BDH&C Quality/OHS Committee has primary responsibility for continuous improvement in the wider organisation and takes an active planning, monitoring and evaluation role on behalf of the BDH&C Board. To support continuous improvement across operational areas, quality improvement needs are identified by the Committee through use of regular surveys and audits, through staff and client feedback on the provision of service & care and through communications with external regulatory organisations usually arising from formal accreditation/compliance processes.

Quality projects which are initiated by the Committee are summarised in the BDH&C Quality Plan. During the past year, the format of the plan has undergone modifications to include a rationale for each project and documented evidence of project outcomes. Project rationale and evidence of project outcomes would typically include embedded links to appropriate supporting documentation such as audit/survey results and Major Quality Reports. Over the life of a quality project, a number of interim Major Quality Reports may be written to provide BDH&C staff with a succinct but more detailed description of project progress. In this way, the Quality Plan acts as both a summary of BDH&C quality activities and an index which directs users to detailed project documentation. As such, it becomes a more useful, and user-friendly, quality tool for BDH&C staff.

Due to the breadth of services offered, BDH&C has dealings with multiple accreditation organisations and must comply with the accreditation requirements of each. Accreditation is one tool, in a range of strategies, which can be used to improve quality. It is a way of verifying to an outside body that actions are being taken, that system data is being used to inform activity, and that improvements are actually occurring. During the past year, there have been a number of significant accreditation milestones and improvement initiatives; these are detailed in the remainder of the report.

The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) undertook a 4-yearly Organisational Wide Survey in

August 2012. This involved a 2 day site visit by surveyors with BDH&C being assessed against the EQuIP5 standard which includes 47 different quality and safety criteria. BDH&C achieved a level of at least Marked Achievement for all criteria, and Extensive Achievement for criteria relating to the care of dying patients / support for families, and for strategic and operational planning and development. The survey team were impressed with the strong commitment shown across all services to delivering care that is person-centred and meets the individual needs of each client. Comment was made that it was evident staff are working together to deliver quality care and a range of services to meet the changing demographics of the Ballan community. As a result of the Organisational Wide Survey, BDH&C was awarded full accreditation until February 2017.

Accreditation against the National Safety & Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards commenced from 1 Jan 2013 replacing the EQuIP5 Standard. NSQHS is comprised of 10 Standards which assist health service organisations to deliver safe and high quality care. Following discussion within BDH&C and ACHS, the decision was made by BDH&C to be accredited against the more demanding EQuIPNational Standard. This comprises 15 Standards and allows for a more comprehensive organisation-wide assessment – monitoring and reporting of both clinical and non-clinical systems and processes. To gain familiarity with the new EQuIPNational accreditation model, an informal assessment against the new EQuIPNational Standard was undertaken by ACHS in August 2012 at the request of BDH&C. The results of this informal assessment have been used to help inform how current practice and systems need to be developed and enhanced. Since the beginning of 2013, the Quality Committee has also been undertaking a systematic self-assessment against each individual action in the EQuIPNational Standard. This is proving to be a huge project but crucial for laying the groundwork for successful implementation of the new standard.

During the past year, the Aged Care Facility has received several visits (both announced and unannounced) from the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency – with all assessed outcomes being Met. The past year has also seen a number of quality projects commenced in the Aged Care Facility to improve the quality of service and care provided to residents. These include:

• Funding being actively sourced for refurbishment of the Nursing Home so that each room will have its own en-suite and the general level of amenity improved.

• Expansion of the Dementia Unit to include more dedicated space exclusively for the use of Dementia Unit residents.

• Adoption of Person-Centred Care philosophy to guide practice throughout the Aged Care Facility. This will empower residents to participate in their own care and – within certain parameters – to make their own decisions. Fundamentally, it recognises

that the Home is not just a place where the resident receives service and care; it is the resident’s home.

• Aged Care Access Initiative Pilot Project. A collaborative quality activity between BDH&C and Grampians Medicare Local Aged Care Access Initiative (ACAI) staff and allied health professionals which aims to improve the quality of life for aged care residents by enhancing staff skills.

• Palliative Care. An ongoing quality project, which is building on the work done in previous years, to provide comfort and dignity to terminally ill residents, and support to their families.

The Community Health Centre has experienced significant growth since 2010 and this is set to continue with work recently commencing on the $3.33mil expansion project that, when completed, will include hydro pool, gymnasium and increased consulting space. The expanded primary care centre will significantly increase the breadth of services that can be offered to the Ballan community and is seen as a key part of BDH&C’s plan for continuous improvement to enhance the overall quality of service and care it provides.

BDH&C delivers Community Aged Care Packages (CACP) and Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) services to elderly residents living in the community. These are individually tailored packages designed to meet the needs of frail older people with complex care needs who wish to remain living at home. BDH&C delivers 30 CACP packages – which are designed for service-users who have been assessed as requiring low-care assistance - and 10 EACH packages – which are for high-care service-users and includes care provided by a registered nurse and access, as required, to care by allied health professionals.

During the past year, BDH&C underwent a quality review against the recently introduced Community Care Common Standards. In the subsequent overview of service performance, the regulatory authority assessed all outcomes as Met and commented that BDH&C had established effective management systems and processes based on continuous improvement that are effective in planning support to the packages of care. During the course of the quality review, service-users and their carers commented that they find the support provided by BDH&C staff invaluable with feedback praising staff for their dedication and professionalism.

The past year has also seen considerable improvement work undertaken in the Ballan Community Childcare Centre (BCCC). BDH&C took over operation of this business on 1 July 2012 and has since been working with childcare staff and with regulators on several improvement initiatives to ensure compliance against the new National Quality Standard. The National Quality Standard contains 18 individual standards over 7 quality areas, against which the Centre’s performance will be assessed. To ensure that BCCC is delivering the highest quality education & care program possible, and to ensure full compliance with the legislation and Standard, the following initiatives are being undertaken:

• Development of a new BCCC statement of philosophy

• Development of a new suite of policies to support BCCC practice

• A detailed BCCC-specific quality plan which identifies those aspects of BCCC performance which require ongoing improvement work over a longer period of time

• Detailed checklists developed against each of the National Quality Standard’s 7 quality areas to ensure BCCC is compliant with the relevant legislation

• BCCC’s physical amenity and equipment levels have been enhanced to improve children’s education and care experience

• Health promotion staff from BDH&C, and allied health professionals, have been involved in aspects of the education and care program delivered to children enrolled at BCCC

• Children enrolled at BCCC have the opportunity to be part of excursions to BDH&C and to engage in activities in the community garden, and with residents of the Aged Care Home

BDH&C continues to grow and to broaden its service offering to the Ballan community. And with that growth there is an ongoing need to have in place systems and processes to ensure the provision of service and care of the highest quality, and which remains fully compliant with the performance standards that apply. To achieve that level of excellence has required an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement from BDH&C staff throughout the organisation. It has also required a willingness to raise improvement issues whenever they occur and, indeed, to be an active participant in the formal quality processes relevant to their area. Without that level of support and participation, it would not be possible for the current high level of service and care to be delivered to the many people in the Ballan community who use and daily depend on the services which BDH&C provide.

Ross Simpson

Anne Desborough

Quality Coordinators

Continuous Improvement

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Members of the ‘Association’Ballan District Soldiers’ Memorial Bush Nursing Hospital and Hostel Inc.

Sub Committee

Executive Finance

Hospital

Nursing Home

Dementia Unit

Emergency Stabilisation

Hostel

Aged Care Activities

Education

Domestic Services

District Nursing

Quality Coordination

Accreditation

Project Management

TCP coordinator

CACP Packages

EACH Packages

Medical Practice

Community Health

Allied Health

Dental

Opportunity Shop

Volunteers

Childcare Centre

Maintenence

Gardening

External Contractors

Board of Governance

Acting Chief Executive Officer / DON

Leadership/HR

Auxiliary/Friends

Quality Improvement

Health & Safety

Community Packages

Coordinator

Retirement UnitsHyatt Close

Myers Terrace

Primary Care Manager

Quality Coordinator

Clinical Care Coordinator

Financial & Processes

Payroll

Reception

Fundraising

Female

Male

Staff Gender Comparison

Less than 20

20 - 29

30 - 39

40 - 49

50 - 59

60 and older

25%

13%

5%14%

15%

1%

Staff by Age

10%

90%

Organisational Chart

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Ballan District Health and Care Hospital

33 Cowie Street, Ballan t: (03) 53 681 100 f: (03) 53 681 181 e: admin@BDH&C.com.au

Ballan District Health and Care Hostel

168 Inglis Street, Ballan t: (03) 53 681 577 f: (03) 53 681 181 e: hostel@BDH&C.com.au

Centre for Community Health

Crn Inglis and Cowie Streets, Ballan p: (03) 53 667 999 f: (03) 53 682 099 e: reception@BDH&C.com.au

www.ballanhealth.com.au

ballan district

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