Services

Services

• Accredited with Royal Australasian College of General Practitioners to provide professional development education sessions for general practitioners. Topics include Parkinson’s disease and chronic disease management.
• Yoga and Wellness for Parkinson’s program attended by 35 patients.
• Collaborated with Chelsea MarShere Dance Studios to start a Moving with Parkinson’s dance group.
  Commenced new self-help program allowing patients who have completed an outpatient program to continue in a supervised environment until they achieve full independence to progress into the community.
• Purchased LiteGait® equipment that simultaneously controls weight bearing, posture and balance over a treadmill or over ground, enabling treatment for patients with a wider range of impairments and functional levels.
• Cardiac team held a free Hearts 4 Heart health check for local community members. Over 100 attendees participated across a 10-day period.

People

• Speech pathologist Georgia Forsberg presented at the Australian Rehabilitation Nurses’ Association (ARNA) conference on the outcomes of the research project with Musica Viva on the positive impact music has on patients, particularly in reducing pain scores.
• Continued collaborative research with the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health into sensory assessment and rehabilitation in clinical settings – SENSE Implement for stroke patients.
• Cardiac Rehabilitation Coordinator Emma Boston became the Victorian State Representative to the Australian Cardiovascular Health and Rehabilitation Association (ACRA) and continues to sit on the National Board.

Community

• Partnered with Peninsula Community Ownership Foundation for the seventh year to support Whitelion Australia, providing $60,000 to fund an outreach worker to assist homeless and at-risk young people in Frankston.
• Commenced a free weekly Music for Wellness program, run by our musician-in-residence, for patients and the local community. Participants have written and composed their own song.
• Participated in the Frankston Seniors Week and Frankston City Council programs to provide onsite access for the local community to attend a Music for Wellness session.
• Commenced a free weekly Cardiac Carers High Tea led by a pastoral care practitioner, to provide emotional support to carers and give them the opportunity to be part of a community.
• Donated food each week to the community breakfast service operated by Frankston Life to support homeless and disadvantaged persons.

Year ahead

• Commence a collaboration with the University of Melbourne to collect cardiac rehabilitation outcome data to improve cardiac-related outcomes at a State level.
• Develop real-time patient feedback program for inpatients and outpatients.
• Redesign oncology outpatient program to include hydrotherapy.
• Relaunch new-look hospital with upgraded facilities to community and referrers.