December 2011

Season’s Greetings from the Life! team

Wow! It's December already!

That time of year when many of us take holidays to spend time with loved ones or travel somewhere exotic.

Whatever you have in store over the next couple of months, the Life! team wishes you all the best for a safe and happy festive season.

We look forward to working collaboratively with you in 2012!

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Prevention announcements

Medicare Locals
Medicare Locals are a key component of the National Health Reform agenda, which will provide better health services and a strong local focus for Australia’s health system.

The final boundaries for all Medicare Locals, including those in Victoria have now been announced. The media release for the announcement can be found here

This takes the total number of Medicare Locals nationwide to 62. There are 16 within Victoria and the roll out will be staggered throughout 2012.

Further information on Medicare Locals, including boundaries, can be found here
 

Victorian Prevention Areas
The COAG National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health (NPAPH) includes significant financial resources for prevention initiatives in Victoria.

The NPAPH has a focus on preventing obesity by encouraging healthy eating and regular physical activity in locations such as schools, workplaces and communities. It also includes strategies to reduce smoking.

Further details, including the 14 Local Government Areas chosen as the Victorian Prevention Areas, can be found here

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Victoria’s Diabetes Epidemic – 10 years on

Diabetes Australia – Vic launched Victoria’s Diabetes Epidemic – 10 years on in early November, a campaign detailing the increased prevalence of diabetes throughout the state.
The Life! program was also promoted and two recent Life! program graduates, Julie and Deborah, spoke about their personal experiences.

Julie thought she knew everything she needed to know about the condition, however when she found out she was at high risk she decided to “stop being so arrogant” and agreed to take part. “The course was very supportive and non competitive. I learnt more about plating size, reading labels and more detailed information about diabetes,” Julie said. “I’m recommending the program to everyone.”

Deborah had hypertension and was struggling to control her weight; she knew she needed to make changes to her lifestyle. Since completing the Life! program, she has lost 15kg, no longer requires anti-hypertensive medication and has embraced a healthy, active mindset. “Diabetes is serious and is an epidemic, but we can do something about it. The Life! program is great and I am recommending it to everyone” she says.

Media coverage for the launch was fantastic, with all television networks running the story on Monday night news, interviews on various radio programs, as well as articles in major metropolitan and suburban newspapers across the state. This included extensive coverage of Deborah and Julie’s stories.

We encourage you to view the statistics for your area official website and make contact with your local government to continue pushing the message.

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Have you scheduled new courses for 2012?

As the year rapidly draws to a close, you may have begun scheduling courses due to commence in 2012.

Please ensure you add these courses to the database so that we can continue to offer these courses to participants who have been referred.

If you have any courses that you would like to advise us of, but have not been able to add to the database, please contact Central Referral on life@diabetesvic.org.au or 03 8648 1880.

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Facilitator database upgrade

The development to the facilitator database is now entering final stages and facilitators should get their first look at the updated system in December.

Users will be provided with and a list of features of the new system to familiarise themselves with the updated program.

Should you have any enquiries relating to this, please contact Andrew on 03 9667 1703 or Tristan on 03 9667 1710.

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Updates to the Life! team

It’s an exciting time for the team as funding for the new financial year has enabled us to introduce new staff and streamline existing processes.

To ensure you have the most current information, the updated team details are listed below:

Robyn Health Promotion Officer - Aboriginal and Cultural Diversity ** Anila Administration and Call Back Officer ** Bianca Telephone Health Coach Coordinator ** Caddie Health Promotion Officer - Community and Workplace Engagement ** Judith Training Coordinator ** Lauren Program Development Team Leader ** Kate Communications and Support Coordinator ** Lisa Social Marketing Manager ** Candice Resources and Support Officer ** Jim Senior Central Referral Officer ** Michelle Primary Care Prevention Coordinator ** Andrew Database and Systems Officer ** Esther Call Back Administration Officer ** Di Office Coordinator ** Anjanne Central Referral Officer ** Tristan Program Data Analyst ** Sam Administration Officer ** Amy Manager, Prevention and Health Promotion

We are pleased to welcome the following new staff to the Life! team:

Anila Administration and Call Back Officer
Anila has completed her study in the area of Accountancy, completing her Master of Business Administration (Finance). During this time she also worked as a Customer Service Officer. Anila joins the Life! team having recently moved to Diabetes Australia – Vic as a Finance Officer and looks forward to being on the frontline of prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Bianca Telephone Health Coach Coordinator
Bianca joins us from Physical Activity Australia (formally Kinect Australia) where she was both a Health Coach and Health Promotion Officer. During her time at Physical Activity Australia, Bianca worked on the delivery of telephone health coaching to participants at risk of type 2 diabetes and assisted in the coordination of health coaches for the program, as well as assisting with health promotion projects such as the Go for your life campaign. Bianca has a background in Health Science, majoring in Public Health. She is now completing a Master in Wellness through RMIT University.

Candice Resources and Support Officer
Candice joins us from the fashion industry and has a background in inventory, production and account management. She is excited to be able to apply her knowledge and experience in the Life! team and more broadly, in the preventative health industry.

Esther Call Back Administration Officer
Esther has a background in Biological Sciences, completing her honours degree in Human Physiology and Anatomy. After university, Esther travelled the world, primarily Europe, before returning to Melbourne to work in a research institute. Before joining the Life! team, Esther spent also spent some time in New Zealand hitting the slopes for some fresh powder. She looks forward to working with the Life! team to spread the type 2 diabetes prevention message.

Judith Training Coordinator
Judith has been a trainer and training coordinator in the work place, Tafe and private Registered Training Organisations for about 10 years. She has facilitated face-to-face as well as online training. Judith has a B.A in Multimedia and Cert IV in Training and Assessment. She is particularly interested in the field of adult education.

Michelle Primary Care Prevention Coordinator
Returning home to Melbourne Michelle brings with her to the Life! team experience in health promotion with a variety of population groups in the community. From corporate health to remote work as a community nutritionist with a central QLD division of general practice, Michelle has also been involved with Diabetes QLD, coordinating a pilot program to promote healthy eating to students. Michelle has a background in applied science and health promotion and has more recently completed her Master of Human Nutrition. She looks forward to integrating the Life! program with primary care across Victoria.

Robyn Health Promotion Officer - Aboriginal and Cultural Diversity
Robyn joins us from Physical Activity Australia (formally Kinect Australia) where she worked on various projects including Walktober and coordinated a number of forums for health professionals around healthy eating and physical activity. Prior to Physical Activity Australia, Robyn worked with Council on the Ageing Victoria on projects supporting older Victorians to be active. Robyn has a background in Health Promotion.

Should you have any enquiries on who to direct particular questions to, please contact Kate on KDelley@diabetesvic.org.au

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