News
It was fantastic to see so many members and friends of Doutta Galla Community Health Service at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Tuesday 27th October 2009 at the Flemington Community Centre, 25 Mt Alexander Rd, Flemington.
Highlights of the evening included the Chairperson's Report by Morris Bellamy, as well as a report by the CEO, Caz Healy, on the many achievements by the organisation during 2008/2009, and included her thanks to the staff and Board for their work over this period.
Joe Groher, as Treasurer of The Board of Directors, was delighted to present the Annual Report and audited statement of accounts for the year ended 30th June 2009.
Those in attendance were also treated to several beautiful songs by the "La Voce Della Luna" or Italian Women's Choir, a vital component of our 'Making a Move' Falls Prevention Program for Italian women over 75 years of age. One of our warm and welcoming Physiotherapists, Noreen, introduced two of the participants in the Falls Prevention Program to the meeting and helped them to relate their positive experiences with the at-home strength and exercise program.
The 'Lydia Kauzlaric Outstanding Achievement Award' for 2009 was jointly shared by the 'Making a Move' Program and the Somali Women's Group. Board member Christine Moffat spoke of Lydia's efforts for her local community over many years and presented the award to Noreen, as a representative of the Making a Move program, and to Ruth, our Day Program Coordinator, as a representative of the Somali Women's Group.
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We are proud to publish our 2008/2009 Annual Report, presented at the AGM.
Please click on the image to view, download, print, share or search our latest Annual Report.
Visit our 'Publications' page for the Quality of Care Report' for 2009, which was also presented at the AGM.
The 'Strategic Plan 2009-2012', another exciting development for DGCHS, was also introduced to members and friends during the vibrant meeting. Visit the 'Strategic Directions' page for a summary of the strategies as well as a link to the full 8-page document. |
PANDEMIC (H1N1) INFLUENZA VACCINATION PROGRAM
Doutta Galla Community Health Service (DGCHS) has been advised that the Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Vaccination Program will be available to patients from 30th September 2009.
In the early stages of the rollout of the H1N1 vaccine, we want to make sure that people in the specified priority groups are offered the vaccine first as they are the groups who have been shown to be at the biggest risk from pandemic (H1N1) influenza.
The vaccination will not be restricted to people in a priority group. There will be flexibility to vaccinate other people (for example, your family members) if they wish to be vaccinated.
HOW CAN I GET THE VACCINE?
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The Medical Practice at Kensington has stocks of the Pandemic H1N1 vaccine.
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Appointment sessions will be available from Wednesday 30th September.
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Telephone the Kensington Medical Practice on 8378 1666 to make an appointment.
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The vaccine is free. The appointment at the medical practice will be bulk billed if you have a valid Medicare Card.
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There is a consultation fee of $15.35 for the appointment if you are not eligible for Medicare Benefits.
Please click here for the information sheet.
Quality Improvement Council Accreditation
We are proud to announce that we have achieved accreditation with the Quality Improvement Council (QIC) and we are now able to display the QIC accreditation logo on our website, promotional material and stationery
Community Representatives
At Doutta Galla Community Health Service (DGCHS) we are committed to working together with our community. One way we do this is through the members of our Community Advisory Committee.
We are seeking new members to join the Committee and to come and be a voice for our community. Advocate and share the consumers’ perspective on how we do things and how we can improve access and service delivery.
Members are required to attend a 1.5-hour meeting every second month (during business hours). You will also contribute to the development of our annual Quality of Care Report.
For more information please contact Craig Moore on 9377 7158.
Special General Meeting - Our new Constitution
A Special General Meeting was held on the 17th February 2009 to consider the adoption of a draft Constitution as part of the process of becoming a Company Limited by Guarantee.
The Minutes of the meeting can be viewed here.
To view the Constitution which was adopted at the meeting please click here.
The Doutta Galla Community Health AGM was held on Wednesday 29th October 2008 at our 3-15 Matthews Ave, Niddrie, site.
We had a terrific night at the 2008 AGM for DGCHS held at the Niddrie site. The event was well attended and ended with a brilliant performance by Group 120. The new Annual Report and Quality of Care Report were launched, and they will be distributed around our sites in the coming weeks.
The Lydia Kauzlaric Outstanding Achievement Award was awarded to to the DGCHS Healthtime Program - well done to the Healthtime team!
Thanks to all our staff who assisted on the night and in preparation.
Recent Awards - September 2008
Best Quality of Care Report by a Community Health Centre - Victorian Public Healthcare Awards
Doutta Galla Community Health Service was a winner in the Quality of Care Reporting awards. This award recognises excellence in the identification of areas for improvement and reporting to the community on issues such as infection control and safety.
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(Left to right)
Doutta Galla CEO Caz Healy is shown with Department of Human Services Secretary, Fran Thorn, and Doutta Galla General Manager Primary and Community Health, Di Couch, after receiving the Quality of Care Reporting Award for Community Health. |
Children’s Speech service a winner in any language - Victorian Public Healthcare Awards
Breaking down the barriers for children under six who are experiencing speech difficulties earned Doutta Galla Community Health Services a public healthcare award this week.
The “Talking Culture; Talking Families” project was the gold winner in the Improving the health and wellbeing of disadvantaged people and communities category of the 2008 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards in Melbourne.
Presenting the award, Health Minister Daniel Andrews highlighted how “Talking Culture; Talking Families” had refused to allow language, cultural or economic barriers from preventing it reaching children in need.
“Targeting culturally and linguistically diverse families, indigenous families and families with limited economic resources who live in Melbourne’s inner west, “Talking Culture; Talking Families” reaches out to families in ways that acknowledge their culture, language and life circumstances,” Mr Andrews said.
In the past 12 months the speech therapy team has worked with 272 families from 19 different cultural and language backgrounds. It works to build trust, connection to community and, importantly, each family’s own capacity to support their children’s language skills and confidence.
There have now been 45 local children’s service providers trained to support children in language skills. As a result, waiting times have been reduced from eight months to no more than six weeks for children with significant language difficulty.
Congratulations to Ozgul, Catherine, Karen and Nuray for their tremendous efforts.
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| L-R Fran Thorn, Secretary of the Department of Human Services; Speech Therapists Catherine and Ozgul (Team Leader); our CEO, Caz Healy; and Speech Therapist Nuray. The fourth member of the team, Karen, is not shown. | |
The silver winner in the category was the Royal Children’s Hospital’s family-focused approach to the provision immigrant health services, while Western District Health Service was highly commended for its 10MMM multi-media project.
Other award winners were:
● Providing sustainable, well managed and efficient health services – Peninsula Health
● Providing timely and accessible health services – Melbourne Health
● Promoting least intrusive and earliest effective care – Bayside Health
● Improving health service safety and quality – Bendigo Health
● Strengthening the capacity of individuals, families and communities through effective prevention and health promotion – Swan Hill District Hospital
● Improving the health and wellbeing of disadvantaged people and communities – Doutta Galla Community Health Services
● Secretary’s Award for Keeping people well in the community – Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Company
● Minister’s Award for Outstanding achievement by an individual – Melbourne Health’s Professor Stephen Davis
● Minister’s Award for Outstanding achievement by a team – Melbourne Health’s ABO Incompatible Renal Transplantation Team
● Minister’s Award for Outstanding achievement by an individual in mental healthcare – Melbourne Health’s Professor Bruce Singh
● Minister’s Award for Outstanding achievement by a team in mental healthcare – Peninsula Health’s Acute Adult Inpatient Unit (2 West)
● Premier’s Award for Excellence in tackling chronic disease and improving public health – Gippsland Lakes Community Health Service
● Premier’s Award for Excellence for improving cancer care in Victoria – Melbourne Health and The Royal Women's Hospital
● Primary Health Service of the Year – Western District Health Service
● Rural Health Service of the Year – Alexandra District Hospital
● Regional Health Service of the Year – Goulburn Valley Health
● Metropolitan Health Service of the Year – St Vincent's
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.
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.
The 2008 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards illustrate the scope of innovation and excellence within Victorian healthcare and celebrates the health sector’s achievements. The awards have been embraced by the sector with great enthusiasm and generated considerable goodwill.
More than 300 entries were submitted to this year’s awards – an increase of more than 30 per cent on last year’s awards. | 
