Bendigo Community Health Services recognises service milestones during Staff Development Day
- Friday 28 February 2020
- Written by Rod
Loyal staff are such a valuable asset for any organisation and we're no different.
We had the honour of recognising service milestones during our Staff Development Day on Thursday and we'd like to share these great achievements with you too.
A huge thanks to the following staff for their long and loyal service not only to BCHS and headspace Bendigo but in caring for the health and wellbeing of our great community.
Thank you one and all!
25 years
Sheenah Van Eck (Alcohol and Other Drugs team).
Nicole Botham (Fleet and Facilities).
20 years
Bronwyn Moore (Strategy, Planning and Analysis team).
Marg Savy (Client Services).
CrimeStoppers fire safety message gets helping hand from Nido to reach Bendigo refugees
- Friday 28 February 2020
- Written by Rod
A CrimeStoppers campaign raising awareness around arson and the penalties for deliberately or recklessly lighting a bushfire has reached into the refugee communities of Bendigo thanks to our Community Guide Nido.
Nido was part of the CrimeStoppers You Don't Need A Match To Be An Arsonist campaign in Bendigo which delivered important messages around the zero-tolerance approach taken by Victoria Police and the CFA around illegal fires that are deliberately or recklessly lit.
The campaign encourages people to stay alert and report any risky or suspicious behaviour they see in the community.
You Don't Need A Match To Be An Arsonist highlights that you can be charged with arson if your fire pit or barbecue sparks a bushfire.
Penalties for recklessly or deliberately causing a bushfire can include 15 years in jail while lighting a fire on a day of Total Fire Ban can lead to a fine of up to $37,000.
Nido played a role in the Bendigo campaign launch by translating the messages for the Karen community.
"We value our community and understand how important it is to do the right thing," Nido told the Bendigo Advertiser. "The bushfires have been shocking for everyone and I know that Bendigo is in a fire danger period, so it's extra important to be careful."
Nido has helped Bendigo Community Health Services produce translated and easy to understand fire information sheets this summer through a new project with the City of Greater Bendigo and CFA community educators.
PDF versions of the translated fire information sheets for you to download:
pdf Fire safety information sheet Karen (1.38 MB)
pdf Fire safety information sheet Dari (273 KB)
What to do if you see suspicious behavior
If you see suspicious behaviour currently happening then call Police on 131 444.
If you see a fire burning or smoke then call 000 for fire services
If you have information about someone who is deliberately lighting fires then call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestoppers.com.au
Last updated: February 2020.
Fire safety information translated to help deliver message to Bendigo refugee communities
- Friday 21 February 2020
- Written by Rod
Bendigo Community Health Services has created translated fire safety information sheets to support refugee communities in Bendigo.
The project has been completed with the support of the City of Greater Bendigo, CFA and refugee communities in Bendigo.
Special 'ambassadors' from the refugee communities have been identified and skilled to ensure the information is shared and understood.
Download and print out an information sheet by clicking on the links below:
pdf Fire safety information sheet Karen (1.38 MB)
pdf Fire safety information sheet Dari (273 KB)
Last updated: February 2020
Essendon Football Club players support BCHS during AFL Community Camp
- Monday 17 February 2020
- Written by Rod
Essendon Football Club players have helped out with Thursday Soup Kitchen and learned how we support refugees in Bendigo during their AFL Community Camp in Bendigo.
Michael Hurley, Sam Draper, Kyle Langford, Mason Redman and Adam Saad ventured to our Fork In The Road community hub on Thursday afternoon to serve meals and talk with people attending the weekly Soup Kitchen from 4pm.
Our Settlement Services team hosted Joe Daniher, Orazio Fantasia, Martin Gleeson, James Stewart, Dylan Clark and Cian McBride on Friday morning.
The group heard about how we support refugees to settle in Bendigo and the activities enjoyed by our Karen and Afghan youth groups.
The players asked questions and shared stories about their own journeys into AFL football.
A huge thanks to AFL Central Victoria for organising the visit and the Essendon Football Club players for showing interest in what we do for the community.
We thoroughly enjoyed your visit and our staff and clients got a lot out of the time you gave us.
www.bchs.com.au I #BCHS #thereforyou
Equality Commitment Statement
- Wednesday 5 February 2020
- Written by Rod
Bendigo Community Health Services is committed to support our staff to be the best they can be and ensure that all of our services are free from any form of discrimination.
We advocate for all, value the diverse skills and perspectives that people bring as consumers and staff because of their age, language, cultural background, disability, gender and sexual orientation, work and life experiences.
Our aspiration is to eliminate discrimination in any form, including discrimination in access to health care on the basis of having, or not having, religious belief. People thrive in working environments that are free from bias and discrimination and where diversity of experiences and views are valued.
BCHS goal is to provide safe and inclusive workplaces, where all people are valued and included. Diversity is welcomed and improves our ability to appreciate the needs of our community.
As a values-led organisation, BCHS is passionate about improving health for current and future generations, and all of us are striving for a culture of inclusion and equality for all that the community we serve has trust and pride in.
Vicki Pearce
Board Chair
Gerard José
Chief Executive Officer
Bendigo Community Health Services
Last updated: January 2020
Bendigo Diabetes Group Exercise Session
- Tuesday 21 January 2020
- Written by Rod
Our Exercise Physiologist will show you the safe and right way to exercise to help manage your Type 2 Diabetes.
Regular exercise can:
- Stabilise blood glucose levels long term.
- Improve the body’s response to insulin which can lower your blood glucose levels for up to 24 hours!
- Increase muscle strength and muscle size resulting in increased insulin sensitivity.
- Increase uptake of blood glucose.
- Help weight control by decreasing fat mass.
- Reduce blood pressure.
- Reduce cholesterol levels.
- Help prevent complications associated with Type 2 Diabetes.
- Improve mental health.
What do the sessions cost?
Sessions are funded by Medicare.
How do the sessions work?
Initial assessment
Our Exercise Physiologist will look at your medical history, do a physical assessment, set goals and create an exercise plan just for you.
Exercise prescription
Eight group sessions and our Exercise Physiologist will provide you with an exercise program to do at home or connect you with other community-based exercise facilities.
Post assessment
You review goals and objective measures.
Do I need a referral for group exercise sessions?
Yes, you will need a referral from your GP before joining the group exercise sessions.
Medicare
A referral from a GP is needed to obtain Medicare rebates for Type 2 diabetes sessions.
A GP Management Plan must be in place.
MBS item numbers: 81110 and 81115
How do I ask a question about the Diabetes Group Exercise Sessions?
Call the Active Living Program team on (03) 5406 1200 with your question or to book an appointment with our Exercise Physiologist.
What’s an Exercise Physiologist?
An Allied Health professional specialising in preventing and managing health conditions and injury treatment.
An Exercise Physiologist works with consumers in areas such as:
- diabetes
- heart disease
- obesity
- asthma
- chronic pain
- cancer
- osteoarthritis
- osteoporosis
- COPD
- chronic pain
- impaired balance
- rehabilitation for injury or before and after surgery.
Do you offer other diabetes services?
Our Credentialled Diabetes Educators can help you to adapt to a life with diabetes, support you to set goals for self-managing your diabetes and educate you on the diabetes process.
They can support you with:
- Eating
- Exercise
- Diabetes sick day management
- Complications of diabetes
- Tools to help you manage your diabetes.
Credentialled Diabetes Educators are available Monday to Friday at our Eaglehawk site and at outreach clinics at Strathfieldsaye Primary Health and Elmore Primary Health.
To learn more about our diabetes programs click here
Last updated: January 2020
Bendigo child care vacancies available through our Family Day Care program
- Friday 17 January 2020
- Written by Rod
Are you looking for child care or know someone who is?
Our Family Day Care team has vacancies for child care at the moment. Our accredited Child Care Educators provide the care in their own homes. Learn more: http://bit.ly/BCHSFamilyDayCare
So, what are our Family Day Care educators like and what do parents think of the program? We'll let a parent answer that one for you: "Knowing that my children are being looked after, nurtured and educated is a very comforting feeling and I am so pleased to have (FDC educator) and her family in our life. She is consistent, professional and direct as well as kind, caring and knowledgeable which are all attributes that I admire and look for when dealing with something as serious as my children. I wanted to provide this feedback to you directly as I doubt (FDC educator) would provide my thoughts to you directly due to how humble she is. I believe in her greatly and appreciate the time and effort she puts into developing my children and others." Note: We have used (FDC educator) instead of the person's name for privacy reasons.
Contact our Family Day Care team on 5406 1200 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to ask about a vacancy.
www.bchs.com.au I #BCHS #thereforyou
Last updated: January 2020
Australian bushfires victims get support from generous Bendigo Community Health Services staff
- Wednesday 15 January 2020
- Written by Rod
It's been a big week on the fundraising front for our staff and we're very proud of their efforts in supporting people and wildlife impacted by these horrendous bushfires.
Staff raised $472.15 from a Casual Clothes Day, $650 from a 'Christmas Gift' Auction and $1474 from the famous Sausage Sizzle at Bunnings Epsom on Sunday thanks to a bunch of very generous and peckish shoppers.
The Sausage Sizzle was run with the help of our Board Directors and volunteers from Headspace Bendigo and Motor Neurone Disease Association of Victoria.
Sausage Sizzle proceeds were going to our Thursday Soup Kitchen in support of the disadvantaged, lonely and homeless but we decided going 50-50 with the Bushfire Appeal was the right thing to do.
So, we'll be giving $1000 to Wildlife Victoria, $859.15 to the Bushfire Appeal and $737 to our Soup Kitchen which we hold in the Fork In The Road community hub at 165-171 Hargreaves Street from 4pm each Thursday.
Some of the highlights from the Christmas Gift Auction included $50 for a $25 Cafe Essence Bendigo coffee voucher, $45 for a home-made plate of Yo-Yos and $20 for a bag of Red Rock Deli Honey Soy Chicken Chips.
Such great generosity!
Amazingly, this brand new Essendon Football Club Ladies Size 10 Soft Shell Premium Jacket was the only item not to sell in the 'Christmas Gift' Auction.
It's not too late to make us an offer on the jacket by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we'll gladly add this to the final Bushfire Appeal tally! C'mon, you Bombers supporters!
Bendigo smoke haze: EPA outlines the health risks to you on days like this one
- Wednesday 15 January 2020
- Written by Rod
The Environment Protection Authority has issued important information around bushfire smoke and your health.
As a think blanket of smoke lingers over Bendigo today the EPA has provided some excellent detailed information on how to stay healthy in such conditions.
Thank you to the EPA for making this important information available to the community.
How smoke impacts health
Most healthy people tolerate brief smoke exposure quite well. Smoke is more likely to affect some people including:
- those with heart or lung conditions
- pregnant women
- young children
- the elderly.
Symptoms of smoke exposure – including bushfire smoke – can include:
- eye, nose and throat irritation
- coughing
- sneezing
- congestion.
Exposure to smoke may be a risk because it can:
Meet our BCHS Life Member: Denise Main
- Friday 3 January 2020
- Written by Rod
Denise Main was a pioneer for community health in Bendigo serving as the organisation’s first Community Health Nurse from the beginning in 1974 through to 1993.
She remembers a message from her family on the night of May 1974 after accepting the offer to become the first Community Health Nurse for Eaglehawk Long Gully Community Health Centre that would prove prophetic for her career in the role.
It read: “Well done, you realise that this position will become not just a job but a way of life.”
How true those words would become.
“I have lived and breathed the philosophy, principles and practice of community and public healh as a Community Health Nurse and as a lecturer at La Trobe University in the Bachelor of Public Health Program and recently as a volunteer for the Bellarine, Point Lonsdale Community Health Service.”
Denise outlined the incredible journey of community health in Bendigo during a speech to the Bendigo Community Health Services AGM on October 28, 2010.
“I can well remember the first AGM of what was then the Eaglehawk and Long Gully Community Health Centre in 1974. The staff of almost 16 had high hopes for the future of the community based centre but never could have envisaged the size, range and scope of the community health service that it now has become.
“This journey has taken 36 years with the original philosophy and policy still in place and at the heart of each stage of its development. The focus has not wavered from one that has always been one of health promotion, illness prevention and health education rather than one focused on illness and primary care. This was a unique feature a new way of thinking about community health.”
A true highlight of Denise’s time in community health was her work in researching and establishing a service to meet the needs of victims and survivors of sexual assault.
Denise was supported by the Committee of Management and peers to apply for and accept a Churchill Fellowship to study community responses to child sexual abuse in the USA and Canada in 1986.
“This fellowship, the experience and knowledge gained helped to strengthen the newly-established Sexual Assault Unit at Bendigo Base Hospital which later became the Centre Against Sexual Assault – Yarrington House named after Mrs Yarrington of Eaglehawk’s Benovolent Society for Women and Children,” Denise says.
“It also gave us a model to develop the Child Sexual Assault Treatment Program known as the CAT Program.”
Denise remembers the satisfaction that came with taking risks and challenges in innovation and creating opportunities for change in the way that individuals and families managed their health care issues.
“The aim was to help to shift the focus from dependence to managing with the support and expertise of health care practitioners. However, in most instances when we provided our researched evidence for an initiative we received the support and encouragement from the whole community health team.”
Denise retired from life as a Community Health Nurse in February 1993.
Today Denise lives in Point Lonsdale and has completed a Diploma of Visual Arts, works as a volunteer guide at Geelong Gallery and is a member of the SpringDale Artists, Queenscliff Rip Writers and Bellarine Community Health Services.
To meet more of our BCHS Life Members click here
A Bendigo Advertiser story announcing start of construction on the new Eaglehawk Long Gully Community Health Centre.
Denise Main with new Eaglehawk Community Health Centre manager Russ Hansen.
The Bendigo Advertiser announces Denise Main has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship.
The Bendigo Advertiser acknowledges Denis Main is at the forefront of change for sexual abuse victims.
An official invitiation for Denis Main to receive the Churchill Fellowship from the Lieutenant Governor and Lady Young.
The plans and site for the new Eaglehawk Long Gully Community Health Centre.
As the Bendigo Advertiser headline says: A Churchill opportunity provides a welcome responsibility.
The Bendigo Advertiser recognises Denise Main's wonderful career in community health.
The Eaglehawk Community Health Centre team with Denise Main fourth from the left in the back row.
Last updated: December 2019.
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Discovering BCHS - meet our staff
Find out more about our amazing staff
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kidzspace - a new era for BCHS
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Men's Health Marathon
Bendigo Community Health Services runs the Men's Health Marathon in late August and early September each year - 11 days of activities designed to get men out, active and thinking seriously about their health.
