On a mission for a Healthy Gippsland

Agencies involved in improving the health and wellbeing of local people are being encouraged to badge their work under the brand ‘Healthy Gippsland’.

The new brand will unite projects and campaigns from groups involved in population health in the region such as local government, community health, hospitals and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.

Healthy Gippsland was recently launched at a learning and networking event hosted by the Gippsland Region Public Health Unit (GRPHU).

GRPHU Director Annelies Titulaer said Healthy Gippsland reflected the “collective mission” many agencies share in their work to improve population health.

“We are all making a contribution to a healthier region, from strategic and urban planners designing the next neighbourhood, to health promoters supporting schools to offer healthy food and drinks in their canteens,” Annelies said.

“Healthy Gippsland will not only bring all of this work together but encourage the community to join our quest. It may be as simple as taking part in a local activity promoting good health, or assisting agencies like the GRPHU in the development of health and wellbeing initiatives.”

More than 50 population health professions from across the region attended the GRPHU event in Morwell and donned ‘Healthy Gippsland #teamprevention’ t-shirts. They will now have access to an online Healthy Gippsland portal which will store resources and share best practice work from across the region.

“I’m hoping our inaugural Healthy Gippsland Showcase was a source of inspiration for participants. It was great to learn what colleagues are doing across the region and how they are addressing challenges in their community,” Annelies said.