Blog

Request for BCHS staff to attend your event

: Thursday 5 September 2019; Written by Rod

Community education is an important part of the work we do at Bendigo Community Health Services.

Our staff are experts in their field and enjoy getting out talking to business, schools, community or sporting groups about their work and raising awareness about what you should know to lead a happy and healthy lifestyle.

We regularly attend community events to share information on a specific health issue or our services in general too.

If you are running a meeting or event and would like one of our staff to speak or for BCHS to host an information stand please fill out the details below and we will be in touch ASAP. Thank you.

Please tell us about your event.

What topics or issues would you like our staff to talk about or promote at your event?

How many people will be attending your event?

Please provide us with the best contact person to liaise with before the event and on the day.

Bendigo South East College students raise money to support disadvantaged, vulnerable, lonely and homeless

: Monday 2 September 2019; Written by Rod

We have to share this inspiring act of kindness from the students at Bendigo South East College.

The BSE Student Representative Council asked to visit our Fork In The Road community hub to learn more about how we use the space to support the disadvantaged, lonely and homeless.

The students heard about our free Soup Kitchen at 4pm each Thursday and other programs we now run thanks to the generosity of The Andrews Foundation who has provided the space.

The students then went away and planned a host of activities such as a market stall and an out of uniform day to raise money for Fork In The Road.

Laura, Jayda and Eliza surprised us on Friday with a truly amazing donation of $2079.30 on behalf of the students.

What a brilliant community-minded act of generosity.

You should all be very proud.

Your donation will ensure our Thursday Soup Kitchen continues to support those in need and allow us to run some barista training to build skills and confidence for some of our clients looking for an opportunity to get back into the workforce.

Thank you everyone!

www.bchs.com.a.u I #BCHS #thereforyou

New phone number for BCHS - one number for all sites and all services ... too easy!

: Friday 23 August 2019; Written by Rod

We have a new phone number.

It's 5406 1200 for all Bendigo Community Health Services sites and services ... too easy!

That's right - one number will connect you with our helpful Client Services team to answer all your questions or help you with appointments for any site, service or program.

Our Elmore site remains the same at 5432 6001.

headspace Bendigo has the same number - 5434 5345.

VIDEO: Watch our staff have some fun promoting the new phone number: http://bit.ly/NewBCHSphonenumber

The new phone number comes with our very new, very modern Avaya phone system installed across all our sites.

The phone system is chock full of features to allow us to answer more of your calls and give our staff have a whole new range of efficient features.

So we ask for your patience and support as we get used to this new system.

We think this new phone system will create a much better user experience in the very near future.

Thanks for your support.

Of course, if you have an emergency please call 000 immediately.

International Overdose Awareness Day - Bendigo event to focus on stigma and community education

: Wednesday 21 August 2019; Written by Rod

Ending the stigma around drug-related deaths and more community education will be the focus of a free International Overdose Awareness Day event in Bendigo on August 30.

Bendigo Community Health Services and The Salvation Army will host the event in the Bendigo Library Gardens from 11am to 2pm with support from the Australian Community Support Organisation (ACSO), Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative, Thorne Harbour Health and Ambulance Victoria.

The event will provide the community with a chance to talk to qualified alcohol and other drugs staff about the risk of overdose, how to respond, life-saving medication Naloxone, drug and alcohol services in Bendigo and remember loved ones or friends in a safe environment.

The Salvation Army will provide a free barbecue.

Coroner’s Court of Victoria figures show Bendigo had 18 heroin-related overdose deaths from 2014 to 2018 with only Geelong recording more at a regional level.

BCHS Alcohol and Other Drugs Team Manager Jan Dunlop said community education was an important element of International Overdose Awareness Day.

“It’s a common belief that illegal drugs such as heroin cause most overdoses but the rates involving prescribed medications are higher. Illegal drugs, prescription drugs and alcohol can all cause overdose and the risk increases when different drugs are taken together,” Ms Dunlop said.

“Many deaths and permanent injuries caused by overdose are accidental and preventable.

“Naloxone temporarily reverses the effects of any opioid drug with no side effects and Bendigo Community Health Services can provide a free script for this life-saving medication.

“These are the type of important messages we need to get out into the community through events such as International Overdose Awareness Day.”

: Tuesday 20 August 2019; Written by Rod

UPDATE: Good news, we're back online! Thanks for your patience.

EARLIER: Sadly, the gremlins have got into the electrical system at our Kangaroo Flat site this morning causing outages with phones, internet and power.

We're working on a fix and hopefully things will be back up and running as normal very soon.

Apologies for the inconvenience to anyone trying to contact or visit our Kangaroo Flat site this morning.

The Central and Eaglehawk sites are running as normal - phew!

www.bchs.com.au I #BCHS #thereforyou

La Trobe University student wins Bendigo Community Health Services Award

: Tuesday 13 August 2019; Written by Rod

Our CEO Gerard Jose with La Trobe University student Celine Collins Bye.

La Trobe University student Celine Collins Bye has won the 2019 Bendigo Community Health Services Award.

The award recognises the La Trobe University Bachelor of Health Sciences student with the best academic, public health practice performance and attitude to client care in second and third year field experience.

Our CEO Gerard Jose attended the awards night at Ulumbarra Theatre to congratulate Celine and her family.

"We were lucky enough to have Celine spend time at Bendigo Community Health Services on a student placement last year so our staff saw first hand her dedication and passion for learning," Gerard said.

"It's important for our organisation to support La Trobe University and the annual Prize Ceremony which honours students for their academic achievements.

"We hope that Celine will use the recognition of our award as she continues her studies and then pursues her chosen career."

Celine was 'flattered' to receive the award especially after enjoying her placement at BCHS.

"The award means a lot to me. I had a great time at placement and I was really proud of the work I produced whilst at BCHS as a student," Celine said.

: Monday 12 August 2019; Written by Rod

What a moment!

Michelle Payne created history and captured the imagination of the world when Prince of Penzance won the 2015 Melbourne Cup at Flemington.

Relive this wonderful story when Bendigo Community Health Services and Women's Health Loddon Mallee presents the first showing of the Michelle Payne movie Ride Like A Girl at Bendigo Cinemas on September 25.

Purchase your tickets for $15 each from Bendigo Community Health Services Central site at 165-171 Hargreaves Street during business hours.

Ticket numbers are limited so please get in quick to avoid disappointment.

Bendigo jockey Courtney Pace will be a guest speaker to talk about life as a jockey and the inspiration of Michelle Payne.

The event is the first of a new Inspiring Women Event series Bendigo Community Health Services and Women's Health Loddon Mallee will host to raise awareness about wonderful achievements and the importance of women's health.

www.bchs.com.au I #BCHS #thereforyou

Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System: Our submission to the Productivity Commission

: Tuesday 6 August 2019; Written by Rod

The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for mental health in Victoria.

Bendigo Community Health Services welcomes the opportunity to participate through this official submission.

Below are some of the areas that we believe warrant urgent consideration by the commissioners:

: Thursday 18 July 2019; Written by Rod

Bendigo Community Health Services has praised alcohol sale outlets for their proactive approach to stopping underage drinking.

The organisation has monitored bottle shops for the past three years as part of a Smart Generation Program and our commitment to promoting health and wellbeing in the community.

Two 18-year-olds of underage appearance visited 28 Bendigo bottle shops on two separate occasions in 2016, 2017 and 2018 to buy alcohol without proof-of-age identification.

BCHS wrote to all bottle shops after the first visit to share the results and a reminder of laws around the sale of alcohol to people under the age of 18 before repeating the process to look for any change in behaviour.

The audit found 67 per cent of outlets sold alcohol without the presentation of identification in the first two years but showed a dramatic improvement to only 30 per cent in 2018.

BCHS health promotion worker Isabel Nichol-Smith said the findings showed alcohol outlets were improving their practices.

“In the first two years we had a case where one bottle shop did the right thing and asked for the correct ID but sold the alcohol anyway when that wasn’t produced which isn’t good practice. So to see a huge improvement last year is very encouraging,” Ms Nichol-Smith said.

: Wednesday 17 July 2019; Written by Rod

Tax time can be pretty confusing at the best of times so our Settlement Services team has organised a free information session to help new refugees and migrants in Bendigo learn more about the entire process.

The Australian Taxation Office has been brilliant in partnering up with us to deliver this session on what taxes are and why we pay them, what's a tax return and how you lodge one, why your tax file number is important and a little bit about superannuation.

The information session will be held from 11.45am to 12.45pm on Monday, July 22, at theBendigo TAFE - RTO no. 3077 theatrette.

Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 5448 1600 if you would like to attend the session.

Subcategories

General
Community

For all events, information stands, men’s health week, women’s health week and the like
Discovering BCHS - meet our staff

Find out more about our amazing staff
kidzspace - a new era for BCHS

Our kidzspace project
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From our CEO

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Celebrations

Celebrating BCHS's milestones
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.