Together We Grow Fun Fair event
Friday, November 29: Save the date! Bendigo Community Health Services (BCHS) is hosting a free event to mark 50 years of community health care in the Greater Bendigo region, and you’re invited.
Community health services have been an integral part of Victoria’s health care system since first introduced in 1974 and BCHS CEO Mandy Hutchinson says community need drives all that the service does.
“In 50 years a lot has changed for people living in the Greater Bendigo region, but one thing that has never waned is our commitment to our community,” Mandy says.
Quality of Care Report 2023-24
We are proud to share Bendigo Community Health Services Quality of Care report for 2023-24.
In it we look back on advocating for the health and wellbeing of our community through our new initiatives, community alliances, services, and partnerships and placements.
Read about our impact here.
Men’s Health Clinic expands with addition of Dr Haris Noor
The Bendigo Community Health Services Sexual Health Hub is pleased to welcome Dr Haris Noor to the Men’s Health Clinic team. Dr Haris has joined Nurse Practitioner Peter Strange on Tuesdays to provide all things men’s health.
Dr Haris has been a doctor for 11 years, and a qualified specialist GP with BCHS for the past five years. Joining the Men’s Health Clinic will enable him to dedicate a day a week to his interest in men’s health.
“I certainly recognise that a lot of men don’t make their own health a priority, which is something I want to improve by reducing the barriers to accessing care,” Dr Haris said.
This Girl Can inspires fun and fitness for women of all backgrounds
It’s almost time to pick up paddles, racquets and even pickleball bats for Bendigo’s This Girl Can week of mostly free, fun activities, designed to inspire.
Bendigo Community Health Services, Sports Focus, Vichealth and the City of Greater Bendigo are inviting women and girls to lace up the roller skates, pick up a footy, jump in a kayak, plus so much more.
Together they are hosting a week of female-friendly activities as part of the This Girl Can movement.
Health Promotion officer Moni Sonsuwan said the week was about creating more opportunities for women be active, no matter their age, background, or abilities.
National recognition for Bendigo Family Day Care
Bendigo Family Day Care has been announced as a national finalist in the Excellence in Family Day Care Awards.
The nomination places the dedicated local team in the country’s top four for Family Day Care coordination, but in keeping with their ethos of putting families first, they’re using the news to encourage more educators to join them.
“The entire team is absolutely thrilled,” BFDC coordinator Tamarra Tie says. “Top four in all of Australia is absolutely crazy … we just need more educators to support families, as we are in dire need to recruit more people willing to run a small profitable business from their home.”
13 and thriving: headspace Bendigo’s birthday milestone
From little things, big things have grown.
This year headspace Bendigo is celebrating 13 years of helping local youth be in a healthy head space.
Since it first started operating in the region, community need has driven the youth mental health organisation’s growth from a humble front at the Bendigo Library to its newly expanded office in Pall Mall.
In that time, the team has delivered over 50,000 appointments to more than 6525 individual young people, their family and friends. They have also engaged over 70,000 participants in community engagement activities. The staff has grown from two to 28, and at one stage even included much-loved therapy dog, Hulli, who is still missed.
There is still no safe vape
As national laws around buying vaping products change again, anyone battling a nicotine addiction is being urged to stay strong.
“This change could be a trigger for temptation,” says Bendigo Community Health Services (BCHS) Senior Leader Integrated Health Promotion Natalia Smith.
“Kicking a habit like smoking or vaping is no easy feat, but I urge those who have, or have had, a nicotine addiction to look how far you’ve come; remember that your health and wellbeing is important, not just to you but to your loved ones around you.”
While the sale of e-cigarettes is restricted to pharmacies only, from today Australians aged 18 and over wanting to buy a vape without a doctor’s prescription can legally do so.
Law to log off teens has much to contemplate
Families are in unprecedented territory when it comes to social media and Bendigo Community Health Services (BCHS) believes there is much to consider before imposing legislation that bans teenagers from the various platforms.
In an announcement that has caused much debate, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this month said the federal government would introduce a bill by the end of the year that would ban teenagers, potentially aged between 14 and 16, from social media sites such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and Twitter.
Through education sessions and programs delivered to students at local schools by the BCHS Health Promotion team, it is clear young people have developed a complex relationship with technology, and specifically social media.
Get ready for Mental Health Month 2024
Our Health Promotion team is getting ready for a big Mental Health Month of sharing the ‘5 Ways to Wellbeing’. This beautifully simple checklist introduces ways to improve your psychological and emotional health, based on extensive international research.
A healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body for your overall wellbeing. Like physical fitness, you can strengthen your psychological health in lots of small day-to-day ways.
Growing together in Bendigo
Any green thumb will say there’s an element of trial and error when it comes to gardening to local conditions. So imagine how much there is to learn when arriving from a different country.
Karen people love gardening, and it’s traditionally a big part of their lives. But growing food in Bendigo is very different from the warm climate of their home country of Myanmar or in the refugee camps of Thailand, where many have spent decades of their lives.
